All In Good Time
by SteeleSimz
Summary: The saga from Living In The Unknown continues...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Well once again I don't own the characters and never will unless a miracle happens and I have no good luck lately.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: A surprise here and there will change two doctors' lives forever.  
  
  
  
1 A Dream Come True  
  
  
  
Last Time On ER:  
  
"I've had many women in my life, but none have ever been able to match you. You're everything I could have possibly wanted and more. After my stabbing I lost my spirit, but you opened yourself to me and opened my eyes, so I could truly live again. Ever since our first kiss you've taken a part of me that I never want to take back. I can't imagine having any other woman as my wife. Will you marry me?" Carter finished with his gaze still locked on Susan's noticing the tears beginning to fall down her cheeks as the moonlight glistens off of them.  
  
  
  
Onwards with the story:  
  
  
  
Susan stared at Carter in wonder. Susan already knew her answer but having to form it into words was not happening for the moment. After a few minutes Susan stared into the sky and back to Carter and nodded her head 'yes'. A wide smile swept across Carter's face as he rose to his full height and kissed Susan.  
  
"Are you going to be okay Susan?" Carter asked after he broke the kiss.  
  
"Yes, I'm just overwhelmed but very happy," Susan said as she watched him slip the ring on her finger.  
  
"We will take it slow, there is no reason to jump right into this," Carter said as he stroked her cheek.  
  
"That sounds good to me," Susan said.  
  
"You do know that we have set up ourselves for a majoring teasing day," Susan added after a few minutes.  
  
"Well, they will get tired of teasing us sometime, but us being together will last forever," Carter said. Susan smiled up at Carter and leaned in for another kiss.  
  
"Should we go tell everyone now?" Carter asked.  
  
"Well they will find out sooner or later, but sooner is always better," Susan said. Carter smiled again and put his hand in Susan's as both of them headed back to the ER.  
  
  
  
ER:  
  
Susan and Carter walk out of the elevator holding hands. Carter notices Randi is the only person at the admit desk and that there were no patients in the chairs.  
  
"Hey Randi, where is everyone?" Carter asked  
  
"They're at Doc Magoo's having something to eat," Randi said without looking up from the magazine. Carter looked at Susan and led her towards the exit of the ER.  
  
  
  
Doc Magoo's:  
  
Susan and Carter enter the diner the same way they entered the ER, but this time Abby noticed them come in.  
  
"Carter, Susan, over here," Abby called out. Carter nodded as he and Susan walked over to the group and sat down at the table.  
  
"As you might have seen the ER is really quiet so we all decided to get dinner," Deb said after she took a sip of water.  
  
"Susan, are you feeling okay? You have tearstains under your eyes," Deb asked.  
  
"Hmm, yeah I'm just…" Susan started to say but then stopped and wondered how she was going to say that she had just said 'yes' to Carter's proposal. The group stared at the couple wondering what had happened.  
  
"Well since you all seem so worried about Susan, she just said yes to my proposal," Carter said trying to break the silence. In less then a second after the words came out of his mouth he saw the dropping of jaws.  
  
"About damn time," Lydia said to break the silence. With that the group all stood up and gave Susan and Carter hugs. When they all finished giving out hugs and congratulations they sat down again.  
  
"Well I must say I'm happy for the both of you, and maybe now Carter can be an adult, " Deb said with a smirk.  
  
"Very funny Deb," Carter said with a smile in return.  
  
"So have you guys set a date yet?" Haleh asked.  
  
"No we are going to take it step by step," Susan said.  
  
"Well we need to get going. You never know when a major trauma will come in," Conni said as the nurse and Deb left the table. Leaving Abby, Carter and Susan together.  
  
"I'll be right back Susan," Carter said as he got up from the table and headed to the restroom.  
  
"Still stunned?" Abby asked Susan.  
  
"Yeah, I never figured he would propose so early but I'm happy he did," Susan said looking at the diamond ring on her finger.  
  
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, he was scared as hell about doing it," Abby said.  
  
"Why do I not find that surprising?" Susan said.  
  
"It's Carter, he gets scared when it comes to things he is unsure of," Abby said with a smile.  
  
"You know what is funny about the whole situation," Susan said after a few seconds of silence.  
  
"What?" Abby asked.  
  
"Carol had made a joke about John proposing right before she left and then John comes and proposes the same night. It is just a weird coincidence," Susan said.  
  
"Yeah it is," Abby said with a smile. The two of them shared a laugh as Carter returned to the table.  
  
"What's so funny?" Carter asked as he sat down.  
  
"I'll tell you later tonight," Susan said as she looked over at Carter and gave him a kiss.  
  
"Are you guys off now?" Abby asked.  
  
"Hmm, yeah we are," Carter said as he looked at his watch.  
  
"Well I need to leave you guys then because I'm still on, but I'm happy for the both of you," Abby said as she got up and left the diner.  
  
"Well part of the staff knows and by tomorrow the rest of the ER will know so the easy part is over," Carter said looking at Susan.  
  
"Yeah, now it is time to tell our families, and that is the hard part," Susan said.  
  
"Maybe we shouldn't and then surprise them after we get married," Carter said with a smile  
  
"Don't push it, plus I already came up with that idea," Susan said as she got up from the chair.  
  
"Why don't we head back home, it is late," Susan added. Carter nodded as he got up and followed Susan out of the diner.  
  
  
  
Carter and Susan's apartment:  
  
Noah jumps off the bed as he hears the door open. Carter and Susan walk in as Noah runs up and purrs against Carter's left leg. Carter picks him up and rubs Noah's head.  
  
"I'll feed Noah, why don't you go get ready for bed," Carter said as he walked into the kitchen to feed the cat. After feeding the cat, Carter walks in the bedroom and notices that Susan is already in bed waiting for him. He goes to brush his teeth and then joins Susan in bed.  
  
"Susan you've been really quiet are you sure you're okay?" Carter asked. Susan smiles and then leans over to kiss him.  
  
"I'm just day dreaming about things to come," Susan said after she breaks the kiss. Carter smiles and lies down on the bed as Susan turns off the light and lays her head on his chest. The two of them slowly fall asleep thinking of things to come.  
  
  
  
Next Morning:  
  
Carter wakes up to the sound of Susan throwing up.  
  
"Susan, you okay?" Carter asked half-asleep.  
  
"Yeah, I think the flu bug that has been going around hit me," Susan said as she came out of the bathroom.  
  
"Maybe you should stay home today," Carter offered.  
  
"I'll be okay," Susan said.  
  
"Okay, but if you start feeling worse at anytime I want you to come get me and I'll take you home," Carter said.  
  
"I promise if it gets worse I'll come looking for you," Susan said. With that they both got dressed and headed to work.  
  
ER: Admit Desk:  
  
Later that day:  
  
"Dr. Lewis, there is a call for you," Jerry said as Susan came out of the lounge.  
  
"Thanks Jerry, " Susan said as she picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello…Yeah I have a few minutes…what is the problem…are you sure? Pregnant, I can't believe it…no I haven't told John yet…thanks for calling," Susan said as she hung up the phone and walked away with a smile on her face. Susan hadn't notice that Lydia was standing nearby and heard the entire conversation.  
  
"Hey Lydia," Conni said as she and Haleh walked up.  
  
"Hey guys, did Susan get sick today by any chance?" Lydia asked.  
  
"Yeah, but she said it was the flu bug," Haleh said.  
  
"I don't think that is the truth," Lydia said.  
  
"What are you saying?" Conni asked.  
  
"Well I just overheard Susan talking to someone and the word pregnant came up and then she walked away happy," Lydia said. Conni and Haleh stared at her.  
  
"Are you sure?" Haleh asked.  
  
"Jerry, who called for Susan?" Lydia asked.  
  
"Hmm, some Doctor," Jerry said as he looked up from the computer.  
  
"It must be true then" Conni said.  
  
"Wait, is Carter and her getting married because she is pregnant or because they actually want too?" Haleh asked.  
  
"Good question," Lydia said.  
  
"Why don't we go ask Carter? He is in the lounge," Conni suggested. The nurses nodded and headed towards the lounge.  
  
ER Lounge:  
  
Carter is sitting at the table filling out charts when the nurses walk in.  
  
"Hey Carter, what is wrong with Susan today?" Lydia asked.  
  
"She got the flu bug, why do you ask?" Carter said without looking up.  
  
"Are you sure?" Haleh asked. Carter looked up from the charts this time.  
  
"Okay, what's going on you three?" Carter asked.  
  
"Well, Lydia overheard Susan talking to a Doctor, and the word pregnant came up," Haleh said.  
  
"Maybe she was getting information on a patient," Carter said.  
  
"What if she isn't?" Lydia asked. With that Carter looked away from the nurses and started to wonder if what they were saying was right.  
  
"Well she hasn't been feeling very well and she was really quiet after I asked her to marry me, maybe she is pregnant, but why wouldn't she tell me?" Carter thought to himself. As he finished his thoughts Susan walked into the lounge.  
  
"Hey guys can you give us a few minutes?" Susan asked the nurses. The nurses smiled and left the lounge.  
  
"John we need to talk," Susan said as she sat down next to Carter.  
  
  
  
To be continued… 


	2. High Hopes

Disclaimer: Well I'm just going to say I don't own anything except my mind, which isn't worth very much.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: Two doctors' learn the truth while hoping for the best.  
  
  
  
High Hopes  
  
  
  
Last Time on ER:  
  
"Well she hasn't been feeling very well and she was really quiet after I asked her to marry me, maybe she is pregnant, but why wouldn't she tell me?" Carter thought to himself. As he finished his thought Susan walked into the lounge.  
  
"Hey guys can you give us a few minutes?" Susan asked the nurses. The nurses smiled and left the lounge.  
  
"John we need to talk," Susan said as she sat down next to Carter.  
  
  
  
Onwards with the story:  
  
"Susan before you say anything, I already know," Carter said.  
  
"Really?" Susan asked. Carter nodded with a big grin.  
  
"So your happy about it then?" Susan asked Carter.  
  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Carter asked.  
  
"Because of our work and that we can't get time off easily," Susan stated.  
  
"Kerry needs to give us time off, it is policy," Carter said as he got up to get a cup of coffee.  
  
"When did it become policy?" Susan asked.  
  
"Susan, you've been a doctor a long time and you don't know why it is policy?" Carter said as he turned around.  
  
"Well I can't wait for you to meet her," Susan said.  
  
"Her… how do you already know it is a her?" Carter asked.  
  
"Well how do you think I know," Susan said, wondering why Carter was acting weird.  
  
"Well isn't it a little early to know the sex of the child?" Carter said.  
  
"John, what are you talking about?" Susan asked as she joins Carter at the coffee pot.  
  
"I'm talking about our child Susan, what are you talking about?" Carter asked in confusion. Susan just stared at Carter.  
  
"What?" Susan asked.  
  
"The nurse overheard you talking with a doctor, and you have been sick and everything," Carter said.  
  
"John, I am not pregnant," Susan said. Carter just stared at her speechless.  
  
"John, my friend Dawn from Phoenix is pregnant, not me," Susan said trying to clear up the confusion.  
  
"Are you positive?" Carter asked quietly.  
  
"John, if I was pregnant you would be the first to know, but I'm not," Susan said as she grabbed his hand in hers. John just shook his head and headed towards the table.  
  
"I thought it was the truth Susan, then I began to have thoughts that the only reason you were marrying me was because I have gotten you pregnant and not because you loved me," Carter said sadly. Susan walked over and joined him at the chairs.  
  
"John, I'm marrying you because I'm in love with you and can't imagine a day without being by you. When I do become pregnant, which by the way I want to happen, you will be the first to know before anyone else," Susan said looking him in the eye. Carter smiled and gave a small kiss on the forehead.  
  
"Susan why is Dawn coming to visit by the way?" Carter asked.  
  
"Hmm, I actually don't know why, she just said she wanted to visit," Susan said.  
  
"John, you wouldn't mind having Dawn and Nate staying with us while they're visiting?" Susan asked.  
  
"It is fine, so how far is she along?" Carter asked.  
  
"Hmm, I think about a month but she hasn't told Nate, she is going to be telling him when they come here. So don't go on saying anything to him," Susan said.  
  
"I won't," Carter said.  
  
"You need to get back to work, while I go find my good friends and straighten out this matter before the entire ER knows," Susan said as she got up and left the lounge. Carter was once again left to his thoughts and a large amount of charts to fill out.  
  
Nurses Station:  
  
Chuny, Lydia and Conni are all standing around talking to each other about what their plans were going to be for the weekend as Susan approached them.  
  
"Hey guys I need your help on something," Susan said  
  
"What?" Lydia asked.  
  
"Well I'm looking for some cute girls name," Susan stated, trying hard not to laugh at the entire situation.  
  
"So it is true," Conni said.  
  
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be true?" Susan asked.  
  
"Well if you ever need any help you can asks us," Chuny offered.  
  
"Thanks, so what about those names," Susan said as she pulled out a piece of paper. The nurse started naming off a few names, after a few minutes Susan quit writing and looked up at the nurses.  
  
"Thanks, my friend Dawn should find these very cute," Susan said as she started to walk away.  
  
"What?" Lydia asked.  
  
"Dawn, my friend from Phoenix is pregnant and is looking for names, " Susan said. The nurses just stared at her, knowing that they had taken the entire conversation out of context.  
  
"Susan, we are so sorry," Conni said.  
  
"What are you sorry about?" Susan asked trying to play clueless.  
  
"We overheard your conversation and thought that you were pregnant so we told Carter and now he might think your pregnant," Lydia said.  
  
"You did what?" Susan asked, stilling trying not to laugh.  
  
"We are so sorry Susan," Conni said again. With that Susan bust up laughing leaving the three nurse completely clueless.  
  
"What is so funny?" Chuny asked.  
  
"I talked to John already and was getting even with you three for listening to the conversation," Susan said when she gathered some air. The nurses just stared at her.  
  
"Not funny Dr. Lewis," Lydia said as the three of them walked off smiling. Susan just shook her head and walked to the admit desk to finish her shift.  
  
Later That Night:  
  
Susan is grabbing herself a cup of coffee as John and Deb come into the lounge.  
  
"Hey, Susan," Carter said as he walked over and gave her a quick hug. Then walked over to his locker and retrieved his personal items.  
  
"I'll see you tonight," Carter said as he walked out of the door.  
  
"Susan, what is wrong with John?" Deb asked.  
  
"He had gotten some false information, and now he is questioning everything about himself and the people he loves," Susan said as started to walk out of the door.  
  
"Susan, he will be okay, just give him time," Deb said before Susan walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Carter and Susan's Place: Later in the evening:  
  
Susan unlocks the door and walks into the apartment dead tired from the shift. She is also drained emotionally from the conversation with Carter, Dawn and the nurses. She heads into the bedroom to find Carter staring at a picture in his hand.  
  
"John, what are you looking at?" Susan asked as she kicked off her shoes and joined him on the bed.  
  
"Just an old picture of Bobby as a baby," John said quietly.  
  
"John, are you angry about me not being pregnant?" Susan asked concerned.  
  
"God no, Susan I love you more than you can know," Carter said looking at Susan.  
  
"Why do I sense that is not all true," Susan said.  
  
"When the nurses first told me I was scared, and then you came and I lost the feeling of being scared. I was willing to do anything for you and our child. I guess I'm just scared that I may never become a father or that if I do become one I won't be good at it," Carter said with a slight strain in his voice.  
  
"John you will be a perfect father when the time is right, I want to have kids but not until we are marry. Then I want it to happen when we are both ready to be parents without having any second doubts whatsoever, I don't want the same problems that Mark and Elizabeth had when they became parents," Susan said grabbing hold of Carter's hand.  
  
"Well you know there is an upside to this entire situation," John said.  
  
"What would that be?" Susan asked.  
  
"We get more time to practice," Carter said with a grin. Susan couldn't help but laugh. Carter smiled and then kissed her on the lips. Carter shut of the desk lamp as he pulled Susan down on the bed with him, and the two of them fell more in love with each other throughout the night.  
  
  
  
Next Morning:  
  
Carter wakes up to find Susan's head on his chest. Memories of last night's event start coming back to him in full until the phone rings bringing him back to reality.  
  
"Hello," Carter said in a groggily voice.  
  
"Hey Mom…No I just woke up a few minutes ago…Breakfast today is at 10:00, I need to ask Susan, but it shouldn't be a problem…Yeah call in about an hour and I'll tell you what we have in mind…Love you too, Mom, bye," Carter said, then hung up the phone.  
  
"What did she have to say," Susan said still somewhat asleep.  
  
"She invited us to breakfast, do you want to go?" Carter asked as he slowly stroked Susan's hair.  
  
"We should go, since we need to tell her we are engaged," Susan said as she snuggled closer to Carter.  
  
"Good point, but you also need to tell your parents," Carter said.  
  
"Give me a week or two before I do that," Susan said with a smile. Carter just smiled.  
  
  
  
A Few Hours Later:  
  
Carter and Susan are sitting in a nicely lit restaurant waiting for Carter's mom to show up.  
  
"I wonder where she is?" John asked, but before Susan could answer Carter's Mom showed up.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, I got a call at the last minute, hope you weren't waiting too long, " Eleanor said  
  
"No, we were just about to look at the menu," Susan said. The three of them stared at the menu and then ordered their food when the waiter came by. After ordering Carter looked up at Susan and then at his mother and figured it was time to speak up.  
  
"Mom, Susan and I need to tell you something important," Carter said with a lump in his throat.  
  
"What is it?" Eleanor asked.  
  
"Well, Susan and I are getting married," Carter said. Eleanor stared at both of them then back at Carter.  
  
"May I asked why," Eleanor asked in an angry voice. Carter and Susan looked at each other knowing that this wasn't going to be as easy as they were hoping. 


	3. Live, Love, Remember

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to ER and NBC, etc, etc.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: Problems are fixed, jokes are played, and bad news is received.  
  
1 Live, Love, and Remember  
  
Last Time On ER:  
  
"Well, Susan and I are getting married," Carter said. Eleanor stared at both of them and then back at Carter.  
  
"May I ask why?" Eleanor asked in an angry voice. Carter and Susan looked at each other knowing that this wasn't going to be as easy as they were hoping.  
  
  
  
Onwards With The Story:  
  
"Why the hell not?" Carter asked angrily. Susan noticed he was beginning to tense up.  
  
"Well, you have only been dating for a little over a year," Eleanor said.  
  
"Mother, you have no…" Carter started to say until he felt Susan's hand on his left shoulder.  
  
"John, can I talk to you outside," Susan asked quietly. Carter nodded. They headed outside.  
  
"Susan what is wrong?" Carter asked when they got outside.  
  
"There is no use in arguing with her John," Susan said as she sat down on the bench.  
  
"Why?" Carter asked as he sat down next to her.  
  
"Well, for one thing, she hasn't approved of me since the beginning," Susan said.  
  
"I know, I just want everything to work out right," Carter replied.  
  
"John, it will work out in the end, hopefully," Susan said with a smile.  
  
"Well, at least your family will respect the idea," Carter said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Umm, about that John, I haven't told them," Susan said nervously.  
  
"Well of course, we only got engaged two days ago," Carter said with a small grin.  
  
"That's not what I mean," Susan said while moving out of Carter's embrace.  
  
"What, don't tell me you haven't told them we were dating," Carter said. Susan just looked at Carter.  
  
"Susan, I can't believe you," Carter replied to her.  
  
"John it isn't as easy as it seems. Remember what my sister did, well my parents would be ten times worst," Susan explained.  
  
"Maybe this is not going to be for the best," Carter said sadly.  
  
"John, don't talk like that. I promise to tell them soon," Susan said.  
  
"Okay, but please tell me your Dad won't show up on our doorstep ready to kill me," Carter said playfully.  
  
"That would be a Kodak moment for sure," Susan said laughing.  
  
"Maybe we should go back inside and explain the situation," Susan offered. Carter smiled, and helped her off the bench. Then the two of them proceeded back to the table.  
  
"Your back," Eleanor said as Carter and Susan sat down.  
  
"Mom, listen to me slowly. I know you don't like the idea of us marrying, but Susan is the best thing in my life and I love her, so I'm going to marry her but it wouldn't be the same unless we have your blessing," Carter stated.  
  
"Well, you have my blessing and your father's also, but I think it will take time to get used to," Eleanor said trying to be nice.  
  
"Alright, that sounds fair enough," Carter said smiling at Susan. The three of them finished dinner and headed home for a must-needed night of rest.  
  
Next Morning in the ER:  
  
Carter and Susan walk into the ER talking about the night before when they notice Kerry approaching them.  
  
"John, Susan, we have a small problem," Kerry said.  
  
"What?" Carter asked, fearing for the worst.  
  
"We have a bunch of kids who want to become doctors visiting and I need you two to show them around and let them see a trauma," Kerry explained.  
  
"Why us?' Susan asked.  
  
"You two make a great team plus everyone else is already busy," Kerry said as she walked off.  
  
"Is it just me or are we having a string of bad luck?" Carter asked.  
  
"It's just you," Susan said as she leaned up and gave Carter a quick kiss. The two of them then headed to the lounge.  
  
Afternoon: ER  
  
Carter is buying a soda when two young males walk up to him.  
  
"Are you Doctor Carter?" One of the boys asked.  
  
"How can I help you," Carter said as he opened the soda.  
  
"Well, we are your somewhat students for the day, my name is James and his name is Kyle," James said.  
  
"Okay, give me a minute and I'll be with you," Carter said as he went in search for Susan.  
  
"Keep the bandage on for two weeks, then come back so we can see if everything is healed," Susan said to her patient.  
  
"Hey Susan, we need to talk," Carter asked as he peeked his head in.  
  
"I'm coming, you can leave anytime now," Susan said to the patient as she walked out with Carter.  
  
"What is wrong?" Susan asked.  
  
"Our students have arrived, and I don't want to be alone," Carter said.  
  
"Coward," Susan said playfully.  
  
"Yeah that's me, Doctor Coward," Carter said in return.  
  
"Is it my imagination or are you trying to make a joke," Susan shot back. Carter smiled and gave her a quick kiss.  
  
"That's cheating," Susan said.  
  
"Yeah, but I won, so I'm happy," Carter said as he and Susan walked towards the admit desk.  
  
"Kyle, James please come with us," Carter said to the boys as they all headed in to the lounge.  
  
"This is Dr. Lewis, she will be helping you guys out as well," Carter said while pouring himself a cup of coffee.  
  
"So what do we get to do first," Kyle asked eagerly.  
  
"How about an intubation?" Carter suggested. The boys' eyes grew wide.  
  
"Are you serious?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Sure why not, he's in exam two," Carter said, the guys smiled and walked out of the lounge in search of exam room two.  
  
"John, your not serious?" Susan asked.  
  
"The guy is dead, they can practice on him," Carter said as he walked out the door with Susan not far behind.  
  
"Okay guys, you have a 55 year old male not breathing and you need to intubate him, but how do you do it?" Carter asked as he sat on one or the chairs.  
  
"First you open the patient's mouth and look down it," Carter instructed Kyle.  
  
"Okay," Kyle responded quietly.  
  
"What do you see?" Susan asked.  
  
"The back of his throat," Kyle said. Carter couldn't help but smile at the response.  
  
"Carter, aren't you suppose to be guiding him," Susan said. Carter glared then got up to help Kyle.  
  
"You're going to take the six-inch long chrome laryngoscope blade and insert it into his mouth," Carter said handing Kyle the blade. Kyle moves the tongue and slowly lifts the epiglottis away from the throat.  
  
"Okay, looking good now your going to take the 16 inch long endotracheal tube and put it between the patient's vocal cords to enter the trachea. Kyle does as he is told.  
  
"I got it," Kyle yells. James stands back in amazement.  
  
"James, now take the bag and begin to push it on a count of three," Carter said. James does as he is told. Carter walks over to Susan.  
  
"I remember when you couldn't almost do that," Susan said smiling.  
  
"Yeah, it was this morning," Carter says playfully as he puts his arm around Susan.  
  
"Doctor Carter, I think we have a pulse," Kyle says making both Susan and Carter jump away from each other.  
  
"That's impossible the guy was dead for 45 minutes," Carter said checking the monitor.  
  
"Just kidding," James said.  
  
"What?" Carter asked.  
  
"Dr. Lewis told me to put Kyle up to it so we could freak you out," James stated.  
  
"Well thanks Dr. Lewis," Carter said smiling.  
  
"Anytime Carter," Susan said smiling.  
  
"Well its time for us to go, thank you very much," Kyle said as he stepped away from the patient.  
  
"No problem," Carter said. The two boys smiled and walked out of the exam room.  
  
"So, playing a joke on me now?" Carter asked as he sat down on the chair.  
  
"It was fun, plus you should have seen your face, it was priceless," Susan said as she walked over to Carter.  
  
"Try this for priceless," Carter said as he pulled Susan onto his lap and kissed her.  
  
"So, who is speechless?" Carter asked after breaking the passionate kiss.  
  
"As of now, I'm the one who is speechless," Susan said.  
  
"Hey guys, we have a hit and run victim coming in two minutes," Abby said as she opened the door. Carter looked at Susan and nodded as they headed out to the ambulance bay.  
  
"What do we got?" Carter asked the medics.  
  
"Never mind, we lost her on the way here," one of the medics answered.  
  
"Well, that was fun," Susan said as they started to walk back to the admit area.  
  
"Not so fast Dr. Lewis," someone said. Susan turned around to notice Dawn standing near the ambulance.  
  
"Dawn, you're here," Susan said as she walked over and gave her a quick hug.  
  
"I know I'm early, I hope you don't mind?" Dawn said.  
  
"Of course not, you remember John Carter right?" Susan asked as Carter came up behind her.  
  
"Yes, its nice to meet you again," Dawn said shaking hands with Carter.  
  
"The feeling is mutual," Carter answered.  
  
"Why don't you two go get lunch," Carter suggested.  
  
"Hmm, I'm still on John," Susan said.  
  
"I'll cover for you," Carter said smiling. Susan nodded. Susan and Dawn then headed over towards Doc Magoos.  
  
"So how are things between you and John," Dawn said as they sat down at a booth.  
  
"Good, very good actually," Susan said.  
  
"That's great, he's a good guy," Dawn commented.  
  
"Yeah, so good that I agreed to marry him," Susan answered.  
  
"You're kidding?" Dawn said.  
  
"Nope," Susan said.  
  
"Can I see the ring?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Sure," Susan said as she held out her hand.  
  
"God, it looks expensive, let me guess he's rich," Dawn said.  
  
"You know me Dawn, money is not important," Susan said.  
  
"I've heard that come out of your mouth before," Dawn answered.  
  
"So Dawn, how is the baby?" Susan asked trying to avoid Dawn's statement.  
  
"Good," Dawn replied.  
  
"Nate should be happy that he is becoming a father," Susan said.  
  
"Susan, there is a slight problem," Dawn said.  
  
"What kind of problem?" Susan asked.  
  
"Well, the baby isn't Nate's. I got drunk one night and slept with some unknown guy, two weeks later I found out I was pregnant," Dawn stated.  
  
"You need to tell Nate," Susan said.  
  
"That's not the worst," Dawn said.  
  
"What is it Dawn?" Susan asked.  
  
"I have cancer," Dawn said nearly in tears. Susan just stared at her friend unable to say any words.  
  
"How?" Susan asked.  
  
"It's in my family heritage, I just learned about it a little over a month ago," Dawn said.  
  
"What kind of cancer?" Susan asked.  
  
"Cancer of the liver," Dawn answered.  
  
"Is it curable?" Susan asked.  
  
"No, that's why I came to visit, I have less than a year," Dawn said.  
  
"Oh God, Dawn, I'm so sorry," Susan said as she wrapped an arm around Dawn's shoulders.  
  
"I haven't even told Nate, I'm so scared," Dawn said in tears.  
  
"Why don't I take you back to my place," Susan suggested. Dawn nodded and the two of them headed back to the ER.  
  
"Carter, I need to talk to you," Susan said as she walked in to the ER. Carter nodded and followed her into the lounge.  
  
"So how is Dawn?' Carter asked.  
  
"Not good, she has cancer, and it is not treatable," Susan said.  
  
"I'm sorry Susan," Carter said.  
  
"It's not your fault, but I do need your keys so I can take Dawn to our place," Susan said.  
  
"Here. I'll cover for you and then take the El home," Carter said, while handing Susan his keys.  
  
"Thanks, I'll see you at home," Susan said as she gave Carter a quick kiss on the cheek. Susan walked out of the ER and over to the spot where Dawn was standing.  
  
"Ready to go?" Susan asked. Dawn nodded yes and the two of them headed over to Carter's jeep. 


	4. Heart To Heart

Disclaimer: There is a four-word phrase for disclaimer and that is; I own the characters, no, not really, but it would be nice.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: An unexpected visitor, and major news will cause a major bump in the road for romance.  
  
  
  
1 Heart to Heart  
  
  
  
Carter and Susan's Apartment:  
  
Susan opens the door and allows Dawn to pass into the apartment. Dawn looks around at the apartment noticing all the strange items.  
  
"Sorry it isn't clean, John and I have been working a lot more hours recently" Susan says as Dawn notices the mess around the living room.  
  
"It's okay, I've never known too many doctors to keep their places clean," Dawn says as she sits down on the couch.  
  
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Susan asks as she enters the kitchen.  
  
"No, I'm fine," Dawn, replies as she notices a small fur ball approaching slowly.  
  
"Susan, what's the cat name?" Dawn asks.  
  
"Noah, he's a gift from John when we moved in," Susan says as she comes back into the living room. Noah notices Susan and runs to her. Susan picks him up and slowly rubs his head and then sets him back down.  
  
"I can't believe it," Dawn says after a while.  
  
"Believe what?" Susan asks.  
  
"How much your life has changed since you left," Dawn says.  
  
"It's been a bumpy ride, but it has all been worth it," Susan says as she joins Dawn on the couch.  
  
"When did you and John move in together?" Dawn asks.  
  
"Umm, about 5 months ago," Susan says.  
  
"Why so soon, if you don't mind me asking?" Dawn asks.  
  
"No, I don't mind you asking. After we left Phoenix things got weird between John and I. We couldn't trust each other, so we broke up. A month later I had a trip planned for Los Angeles but my good friend Mark convinced me that I needed John in my life. So as I was boarding the plane I realized that I was in love with him, we made up exactly 30 minutes later," Susan said.  
  
"That is a very amazing story," Dawn says.  
  
"Why don't you go get some sleep in the guestroom," Susan suggest as she watches Dawn yawn.  
  
"Maybe that's a good idea, you don't mind do you?" Dawn asks.  
  
"No, John should be home shortly anyways," Susan, says. With that Dawn took her suitcase and headed to the guestroom for some sleep.  
  
One Hour Later.  
  
Carter comes through the door and notices Susan is asleep on the couch, her hair still wet from the shower that she had taken not to long ago. He walks over to her and slowly lays a chaste kiss on her lips.  
  
"Hmm," Susan says as Carter broke the kiss. She opens her eyes to notice Carter right above her.  
  
"You took a shower without me again," Carter says with a grin.  
  
"Well its not my fault your late," Susan responds.  
  
"I hit traffic, what are we doing for dinner by the way?" Carter asks as he walks to their bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.  
  
"I ordered some Chinese, it should be here shortly," Susan replies as she sits up from the couch.  
  
"That sounds good," Carter replies as he comes out of the bedroom and sits next to Susan.  
  
"So how is Dawn?" Carter asks.  
  
"She's fine considering what is happening," Susan says as she lays her head on his chest.  
  
"I am sorry Susan," Carter says as he put an arm around Susan.  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry for, unless you did something behind my back," Susan says with a grin.  
  
"Nope, those days are over. I'm a good boy remember," Carter answers.  
  
"Liar," Susan says laughing.  
  
"You did not just call me a liar," Carter says, as he looks her in the eyes.  
  
"I did, what are you going to do about it," Susan says still laughing. Carter then pulls her into a deep passionate kiss. After a few minutes he breaks the kiss.  
  
"So am I still a bad boy?" Carter asks.  
  
"No, now your just an idiot," Susan shoots back.  
  
"You know my male ego is hurt because of that remark," Carter says with puppy dog eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," Susan says sincerely.  
  
"I'm kidding Susan," Carter replies with a grin. Susan just stares at him. Susan is just about to kiss Carter again when the doorbell rings.  
  
"I guess dinner is here," Susan says as she gets up to answer it.  
  
"How much?" Susan asks as she opens the door.  
  
"How much for what Suzie?" a voice asks.  
  
"Mom," Susan says in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, it's me, don't look so surprised to see me here," Cookie said as she enters the apartment.  
  
"What are you doing here," Susan finally manages to ask.  
  
"I came to visit, and can I ask who is this," Cookie says as she looks at Carter.  
  
"John Carter," Carter replies.  
  
"Haven't I met you before?" Cookie asks.  
  
"Yes, when Chloe delivered little Suzie," Carter says.  
  
"Oh yes, now I remember," Cookie says as she walks around the apartment. Carter walks over to Susan who is still at the door.  
  
"Are you okay?" Carter asks as he looks at her.  
  
"Move out of my way," another voice demands.  
  
"Hello Susan," the voice says.  
  
"Dad," Susan says quietly. Henry places the suitcases on the floor and looks over at Carter.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" Susan asks.  
  
"We came to visit, is that a problem?" Cookie asks.  
  
"No," Susan hesitantly answers. Henry and Cookie walk around the apartment noticing the mess.  
  
"Where are you two staying?" Carter asks.  
  
"We'll stay here, unless there's a problem," Cookie answers. At that moment Dawn comes out of the guestroom.  
  
"Hello," Dawn says uncertain of what is going on.  
  
"Dawn, these are my parents, they came for a surprise visit," Susan says sarcastically.  
  
"Nice to meet you honey," Cookie says.  
  
"Mom, Dad are you sure you want to stay here, it's already crowded," Susan says.  
  
"Dawn can have the guestroom, we'll take your room and you can sleep on the couch," Cookie says without thinking.  
  
"Excuse me," Susan says angrily.  
  
"Is there a problem?" Henry asks.  
  
"Yeah, this is John's and my apartment and we are not sleeping on the couch," Susan replies without thinking.  
  
"What?" Cookie asks.  
  
"John is my fiancée. I've been living with him for the last five months," Susan says angrily, upset that her parents are barging in for a visit without asking first. Cookie and Henry begin to laugh.  
  
"Yeah, sure you're engaged," says Cookie sarcastically. With that said Susan walks out of the apartment and slams the door.  
  
"What did I say?" Cookie asks. Carter just glares at her and runs after Susan.  
  
"Susan, are you okay," Carter, ask when he finds her outside the apartment.  
  
"See why I didn't want to tell them," Susan yells at Carter. Carter just bows his head.  
  
"John, I don't mean to yell at you," Susan says as she walks over to Carter.  
  
"I know, but I don't know how to make things better," Carter says as he takes Susan into his arms.  
  
"Maybe we can hire a hit man and kill them off," Susan suggests with a smile.  
  
"Nah, plus if I need to suffer with my parents you need to suffer with yours," Carter replies.  
  
"God, I don't even want to know what is going to happen when our parents meet," Susan says as she looks into Carter eyes.  
  
"Well hopefully they won't kill each other, because that would look bad for our wedding picture," Carter says with a smile. Susan can't help but laugh.  
  
"Thank you," Susan says after she's done laughing.  
  
"For what?" Carter asks.  
  
"Everything, being here, loving me, everything," Susan replies.  
  
"I should be thanking you Susan, you saved me from everything," Carter answers. Carter slowly leans in to kiss Susan when Cookie comes out of the door, making them jump.  
  
"Well since there isn't enough room, your father and I are going to a hotel," Cookie says as she waits for Henry to come down the steps.  
  
"Mom, we can make room," Susan says.  
  
"No, don't bother, we're leaving," Cookie states as Henry comes down the steps and the two of them walk off.  
  
"Did you guys order Chinese," The delivery boy asks as he walks up to the apartment.  
  
"Yeah," Carter replies as he pays for dinner. During the course of dinner Carter notices that Susan isn't eating and Dawn is too tired to eat as well.  
  
After about 30 minute, Dawn says her goodnights and heads to bed, leaving Carter and Susan by themselves. As Carter cleans the dishes, Susan goes to the couch and lies down. After Carter is done cleaning the dishes he heads over to the couch to join Susan.  
  
"Are you okay?" Carter asks. Susan doesn't say anything.  
  
"Susan, can you tell me why you didn't want to tell your parents?" Carter asks.  
  
"I was scared John, not for you but for myself. When I got engaged for the first time they loved it, but as time went by I mention I was unsure and they didn't like hearing that. After we broke the engagement, they didn't speak to me and then accused me that I would never be able to settle down because I was too stubborn," Susan says.  
  
"That's one thing I love about you," Carter replies.  
  
"You know I love you too, and always will," Susan says as she sits up and kisses Carter.  
  
"Susan maybe you should give your parents a chance, what is the worst that can happen," Carter says.  
  
"Good point. I'm just unsure of how both of our families will deal with the marriage," Susan says.  
  
"Well they will need to deal with it, because I'm going to marry you no matter how much your family or mine protest," Carter states. Susan smiles.  
  
"Why don't we go get some sleep, I'm assuming that we will have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow," Carter says. Susan nods and the two of them head off to bed. As they are getting ready for bed the phone rings.  
  
"Hello," Carter answers.  
  
"What…When…I'm on my way," Carter says.  
  
"What's wrong?" Susan asks.  
  
"That was the ER, they need me at the hospital as soon as possible," Carter answers.  
  
"Why?" Susan asks.  
  
"They said someone I know is in critical condition," Carter says.  
  
County General: ER  
  
Carter and Susan run through the doorway and are immediately greeted by Kerry.  
  
"John, I need to talk to you privately," Kerry says with a worried expression on her face.  
  
"What is it?" Carter asks nervously.  
  
"Not out here, in the lounge," Kerry replies as she walks towards the lounge. Carter gets a huge lump in his throat and slowly follows her into the lounge.  
  
  
  
To Be Continue… 


	5. A Journey's End

Disclaimer: Pick a disclaimer, any disclaimer, we've been through most of them. Don't you know the drill by now? We don't own the characters, only borrow them for our own devious entertainment.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: Carter and Susan meet personal trouble in the ER.  
  
  
  
1 A Journey's End  
  
  
  
Previously on ER:  
  
County General: ER  
  
Carter and Susan run through the doorway and are immediately greeted by Kerry.  
  
"John, I need to talk to you privately," Kerry says with a worried expression on her face.  
  
"What is it?" Carter asks nervously.  
  
"Not out here, in the lounge," Kerry replies as she walks towards the lounge. Carter gets a huge lump in his throat and slowly follows her into the lounge.  
  
  
  
Presently:  
  
Carter comes running out of the lounge, obviously very upset as he heads to the exam rooms. Susan stands there worried and confused as Kerry slowly exits the lounge. Kerry notices Susan and walks over to her.  
  
"What happened?" Susan asked. Kerry looks at her distraughtly.  
  
"I think you should go with Carter, he can use your support right now," Kerry answered. Without another word, Susan headed toward the same room Carter was in. As she opens the door, she is suddenly taken aback by the sight of Carter's grandmother lying on the hospital bed with monitors surrounding her.  
  
"John, what's happened?" Susan gasped. Carter turns to her with tears at the corners of his eyes.  
  
"She had a stroke, and now she's in a coma," Carter said, with a quaver to his usually strong voice.  
  
"Oh John," Susan said as she walked over to him and put her arms around him. With that Carter collapsed against her and broke down crying. An ICU nurse walks in a few minutes later.  
  
"Dr. Carter, we're going to take her up to ICU," the nurse said as she walked over to Carter and Susan. Carter nodded as he broke away from Susan's embrace.  
  
"Go with her John, I'm going to head back to the apartment to check on Dawn, but I'll be back soon. You need to be with your grandmother," Susan said just before giving him one last small hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Back at the apartment:  
  
Susan slowly unlocks the door and walks into sounds of Dawn getting sick in the bathroom. Susan hurries over and knocks.  
  
"Dawn, are you okay?" Susan asked, worried for her. A few moments later the door slowly opens and Dawn comes out, looking very pale.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm okay, this is just because of the pregnancy," Dawn said.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay? I can take you to the hospital if you need it," Susan said as she put an arm around Dawn.  
  
"No, I'm sure, I just need to lie down for awhile," Dawn said.  
  
"Okay, but call me if you need anything, I need to head back to the hospital for John," Susan said.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Dawn asked as she lied down on the couch.  
  
"His grandmother had a stroke and went into a coma, he's with her in the ICU right now," Susan said as she a pulled a blanket over Dawn.  
  
"Tell him I'm sorry, he really needs you right now. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, Carter needs you a lot more than I do," Dawn said as she curled up inside the blanket.  
  
  
  
Back at the ER:  
  
Susan heads back up to the ICU and notices Carter sitting at his grandmother's bedside in a grief-stricken slumber. She pulls out a blanket from one of the closets and puts it around his shoulders. She gives him a gentle kiss, before she leaves the ICU.  
  
Two days later:  
  
Susan standing at the admit desk, staring blankly at the room around her.  
  
"Susan, are you okay?" Lydia asked as her, Conni and Haleh walk over to her.  
  
"Yeah, it's just been a very long two days … and it's about to get worse," Susan said as she noticed Carter's parents walking into the ER.  
  
"Good to see you Mr. and Mrs. Carter, John certainly needs you right now," Susan said as they walked over.  
  
"Nice to see you again too, Susan. What room is he in?" Eleanor said.  
  
"Come, I'll take you to him," Susan said as the three of them head to the elevator.  
  
"Wait here a moment," Susan said as she entered the ICU. She walks over and gently wakes Carter up after yet another night of sleeping in his grandmother's room.  
  
"John, your parents are here," Susan said quietly.  
  
"Alright," Carter said distantly. As he sat up Susan noticed the dark rings under his eyes. Susan walks back and opens the door to let Carter's parents in and takes the opportunity to quietly sneak out.  
  
  
  
Next Day:  
  
Susan's asleep on the couch in the lounge, and awakes to a sudden commotion in the ER. She ignores it and slowly falls back to sleep.  
  
  
  
One hour later:  
  
Lydia suddenly enters the lounge.  
  
"Susan, wake up Susan," Lydia said very upset. Susan slowly awakens and looks at the worried nurse.  
  
"What's wrong?" Susan asked.  
  
"Something's happened, Carter needs you," Lydia said. With that Susan immediately jumps off the couch and heads to the ICU. She notices Carter just before reaching the elevator, and is immediately fearful of the distraught look on his face.  
  
"John, please tell me she's not…" Susan began as Carter began shaking his head dejectedly.  
  
"She didn't make it, Susan," Carter said on the verge of tears as Susan just looks at him in disbelief, wondering how Carter is going to cope without his grandmother.  
  
To be continued… 


	6. Fulfilled Promises

Disclaimer: A somber chapter deserves a somber disclaimer. We in no way claim any rights to the characters of ER, we just use them for our own story writing purposes.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: One couple's tragedy brings another couple closer.  
  
  
  
1 Fulfilled Promises  
  
  
  
A few weeks later: At the funeral.  
  
Susan and Carter sit next to each other, hands embracing as the priest gives his final words to the mourning friends and family. As the priest slowly closes his bible, sobs can be heard throughout the otherwise silent crowd.  
  
"I can't believe she's gone," Susan said as she looks into Carter's eyes. Carter just nods as he pulls Susan against him. They slowly get up to follow the procession to the burial.  
  
  
  
At the reception afterwards:  
  
Carter receives a page and excuses himself. Susan takes the opportunity to talk to the other mourners at the reception.  
  
"How are you doing?" Susan asked a young man.  
  
"Fine, I guess, I just never thought it would be so sudden," He replies.  
  
"Neither did I," Susan said as she gives him a hug.  
  
"Nothing's going to be the same without her Susan, nothing," He said as he dissolves into tears.  
  
"I'm so sorry Nate," Susan said with tears beginning to fall. Carter walks back in to find Susan talking to Nate.  
  
"I'm sorry you couldn't be there with her at the end," Carter said as he comes up behind Susan, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"I should've seen the signs, I should've known that the sickness was due to the progression of the cancer and not…" Susan said before dissolving into yet more tears.  
  
"What are you talking about Susan? What else could the sickness have been from?" Nate asked suddenly confused as he looked at Susan. Susan just looks at him suddenly remembering that Dawn never got the chance to tell him. Not knowing how to tell him Susan just falls apart knowing that the news was going to completely crush Nate.  
  
"Nate, I just got a page from an old friend. Before she died, Dawn contacted a local attorney to have a letter written for you so she could be the one to tell you. It was faxed to your attorney's office with the explicit instructions to only let you read it after the funeral. Dawn's attorney is that old friend and wanted to make sure that you would receive that letter," Carter said as he pulled Susan into his arms. Nate stares at him confused and even more upset, but quickly excuses himself so that he could head over to his attorney and read the last words he would ever receive from Dawn. Carter then leads Susan outside so they could head back to their hotel room in Phoenix.  
  
"Do you think Dawn explained everything to him in that letter?" Susan asked, hoping that Nate would be able to find some solace in the letter and not complete heartbreak.  
  
"We can only hope," Carter said.  
  
  
  
In the hotel room:  
  
Carter's sitting on the bed, quietly talking on the phone, with Susan resting by his side.  
  
"Thanks for the information, I'll talk to you later," Carter said as he hung up the phone with a smile.  
  
"Who'd you call?" Susan asked.  
  
"My dad, to check on Gamma," Carter said.  
  
"How is she?" Susan asked.  
  
"Much better, now that she's been recovered from the coma for two weeks," Carter said.  
  
"Well, at least there's some happiness to look forward to during this time," Susan said as she sat up enough to curl herself against Carter's chest.  
  
"If I haven't told you yet, I am sorry about Dawn. I wish you could've spent more time with her before…" Carter left the sentence as it was, unwilling to finish it.  
  
"I guess there's one thing you learn from being a doctor," Susan said after a moment of silence.  
  
"What's that?" Carter asked, gently stroking her hair, doing everything he can to comfort her.  
  
"That life is too fragile and too short. It can be taken away too suddenly from the people who most deserve to live it. What's Nate going to do without her?" Susan asked, more upset than ever.  
  
"Things will get easier for him eventually, he still has you and the rest of his family along with Dawn's family to help each other through this difficult time. He'll pull through, somehow," Carter said, sliding down to lie down with Susan.  
  
"As for you, you always have me," Carter said after a moment, pulling Susan closer.  
  
"I never want to lose you John, ever," Susan whispered.  
  
"You'll never have to," Carter said, looking down to gaze into Susan's eyes. Slowly they each fell into a deep sleep, taking comfort in the shared embrace.  
  
A Few Days Later:  
  
Carter walks into his parent's mansion and finds his grandmother sitting on the couch watching television.  
  
"How are you feeling Gamma?" Carter asked as he sat down next to her.  
  
"Very happy to be out of that hospital," She said in a somewhat shaky voice.  
  
"It's not that bad of a place," Carter said.  
  
"That's because you get paid to be there," Gamma said.  
  
"That's beside the point. Besides I've had to stay there a few times myself," Carter said.  
  
"And of course, I remember how you felt being in there," Gamma said with a smirk.  
  
"It's good to see you smiling again, I was so scared to think that I might lose you," Carter said as he gave his Gamma a hug.  
  
"I can't die until I see my grandson happily married to the woman of his dreams," Gamma said.  
  
"Thank you," Carter said, pulling her closer.  
  
"How is Susan doing?" Gamma asked as they gently separated.  
  
"Better, she's more worried about Nate than anything," Carter said.  
  
"That's one thing I notice about her," Gamma said.  
  
"That's one of the many reasons I love her," Carter said with a small smile. They sit there in a comfortable silence for a while, watching TV together.  
  
"I should probably be heading home, but I'll stop by again tomorrow" Carter said as he began to get up.  
  
"I'll be looking forward to that," Gamma said as she smiled at Carter, before relaxing back on the couch.  
  
  
  
Back at the apartment:  
  
Carter walks into the smell of a home-cooked meal, and immediately looks toward the kitchen, very confused.  
  
"You cooked," Carter said, stunned, as he closed the door and walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Well, hello to you to," Susan said as she stepped over to give him a kiss.  
  
"You know, I've never actually experienced the sight of you cooking," Carter said, feigning a tinge of nervousness.  
  
"There's a first time for everything," Susan said with a smile.  
  
"Should I keep the fire department on hold, just in case?" Carter asked mischievously.  
  
"Very funny. I'll let you order pizza, while I enjoy a five-star meal," Susan said as she turned back to her cooking.  
  
"Really?" Carter asked excited.  
  
"Of course, you can order the pizza for Noah while you go hungry," Susan said as she looked over at him with a smile.  
  
"So I can't get out of this, can I?" Carter asked.  
  
"You haven't even tried it, so why are you complaining?" Susan asked in return.  
  
"Because I actually can for once," Carter said with a smile. Susan just shakes her head as she suddenly soaks Carter with a full glass of water.  
  
"What was that for?" A dripping Carter asked.  
  
"Had to find some way to cool off that hot mouth of yours. I just missed a little," Susan said with an innocent grin. Carter playfully glares at her as he goes to get a towel from under the sink. Susan turns back to the stove giggling, when she's suddenly startled by a cold blast from behind. She turns to find Carter using the hose extension to the faucet against her. She quickly ducks underneath the offending spray and goes to tackle Carter, pushing them both into the living room. They erupt into a tickle fight on the floor until Susan finally gives up, barely able to breath because her stomach hurts from too much laughing. As they lie on the floor next to each other, trying to catch their breath, they suddenly are assailed with the aroma of a burning dinner. Susan immediately jumps up and runs to the kitchen.  
  
"Look what you did!" Susan yells at Carter with a smile on her face.  
  
"Told you I should've kept the fire department on hold," Carter said walking into the kitchen behind her. Susan turns around and playfully glares at him.  
  
"I'm sorry, Susan, I didn't mean to ruin it. I was actually anxious to try some of your home-cooking," Carter said as he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Well, still feel up to pizza?" Susan asked.  
  
"Only if Noah doesn't get my share," Carter said as he picked up the phone to call while Susan took the now useless dinner to the sink.  
  
  
  
Later that night:  
  
Two hours and one empty pizza box later, Susan and Carter are cuddling on the couch with soft music playing in the background and a slumbering Noah on the couch next to them.  
  
"John, I've been thinking about something," Susan said.  
  
"What?" Carter said, half asleep.  
  
"A date," Susan said simply. Carter sits up a little and looks down at her confused.  
  
"But we always go out," Carter said, which makes Susan erupt into a fit of giggles.  
  
"No a wedding date," Susan said as she turned slightly to look up at Carter.  
  
"Oh," Carter said surprised and suddenly serious.  
  
"What do you have in mind?" Carter asked.  
  
"March 22," Susan said.  
  
"What's March 22?" Carter asked.  
  
"Dawn's birthday," Susan said.  
  
"Then the date is perfect," Carter said, pulling Susan closer to him.  
  
"Are you sure? There's no other date that you want?" Susan asked.  
  
"All I want is for you to be my wife, I don't care what date that it becomes final, just so long as I always have you by my side," Carter said, as he gently kissed her forehead. Susan looks up at him with a smile and kisses him just as their favorite song begins playing on the radio. Carter gently gets up from the couch and pulls Susan to him as they end the night with a dance in each other's arms. 


	7. The Bug

Disclaimer: Once upon a time I could have owned the characters, but due to my luck I wasn't smart enough to come up with the idea. So now I don't own the characters.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: A common cold leads to new discoveries.  
  
  
  
1 The Bug  
  
  
  
  
  
ER: Midnight  
  
Carter is sitting in the lounge filling out charts from the previous night when Abby walks in.  
  
"Hey," Abby said.  
  
"Hello," Carter said in a strained voice.  
  
"You sound tired," Abby answered.  
  
"I am. Working a double shift can do that to a person," Carter replied as he got up from the table and headed towards his locker.  
  
"Why are you working a double?" Abby asked as she sat down at the table.  
  
"Susan went home sick, so I decided to cover for her," Carter said as he pulled his jacket out of his locker and then shut it.  
  
"I hope it isn't anything serious," Abby answered.  
  
"It is just your common cold, she'll be better in a few days," Carter said as he walked out of the lounge.  
  
Carter and Susan's place:  
  
Carter walks into the apartment to find all the lights off expect for the one that was in the bedroom. He hangs his jacket on the coat hanger and proceeds to the bedroom. He walks in to notice Susan is fast asleep on the bed. He smiles then heads into the bathroom to get undressed and brush his teeth. After he was done he crawled into bed and looked at Susan.  
  
"Your home," Susan said half asleep.  
  
"You're suppose to be asleep," Carter answered. Susan smiled and turned over to face him.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Carter asked.  
  
"Like a train ran over me more than a few hundred times," Susan replied sarcastically.  
  
"Well you must be doing somewhat better since your humor is intact," Carter answered.  
  
"I wasn't trying to be funny," Susan said with a smile. Carter couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"What is so funny?" Susan asked.  
  
"I always find it funny how much different you act when you're sick," Carter replied as he lay down on his back.  
  
"Why the hell don't you ever get sick," Susan asked as she laid her head down on his chest.  
  
"Haven't you heard, I'm immune to all diseases.' Carter said with a proud smile.  
  
"All except one," Susan said.  
  
"Which one would that be?" Carter asked.  
  
"Stupidity, but there isn't a cure for it," Susan said with a smile.  
  
"Thanks Susan, I needed to feel humiliated tonight," Carter replied with a smile.  
  
"Well it is a tough job but someone has to do it," Susan said as she started to fall back asleep.  
  
"Go to sleep Susan, you need to recuperate," Carter said as he closed his eyes. Both of them slowly drifted off to sleep just as Noah walked into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed and went to sleep right by the foot of the bed.  
  
  
  
Next Morning:  
  
Carter awoke to the sound of the alarm. As he shut it off Noah came running up to him meowing for his breakfast.  
  
"I'll feed you in a second Noah," Carter said as he turned his head to look at Susan.  
  
"Susan, it is time to wake up," Carter said quietly. Susan slowly opens her eyes and turned around to look at Carter.  
  
"You don't look so good," Carter commented as he reached and put the backside of his hand on her forehead.  
  
"I don't feel so hot," Susan said as she looked up at Carter.  
  
"I'm not surprised, you have a fever, why don't you stay here for the entire day," Carter suggested.  
  
"I have work," Susan answered.  
  
"I'll call you in sick," Carter said as he got up from the bed and headed to his closet to retrieve some regular street clothes.  
  
"Are you on today?" Susan asked.  
  
"No, but I do need to visit my mom for breakfast. However if you want me to stay, I will," Carter said.  
  
"I'm not that weak John," Susan answered.  
  
"I'm aware of that Susan, I just wanted to make sure you didn't need me," Carter said as he finished getting dressed.  
  
"John, it is your mother. If I get any worse I promise to page you," Susan said as she started to close her eyes again. Carter just smiled and walked over to her giving a quick kiss on the forehead then walked out of the bedroom to feed Noah.  
  
"So Noah what will it be; Tuna or Chicken?" Carter asked. Noah just stared up at him.  
  
"Well you're a big help," Carter said looking at Noah. Finally giving up Carter opened the can of Tuna and put it in the bowl. Noah sniffed the food for a second then walked away.  
  
"I guess I should have gone with Chicken," Carter said as he watched Noah leave. Carter then called the ER and cleaned up the kitchen. After that he grabbed his keys and walked out of the apartment and towards his jeep.  
  
Carter's Mansion:  
  
Carter walks into the mansion then heads to the kitchen to greet his Mom.  
  
"Hey Mom," Carter said as he sat down at the table.  
  
"Hey, how are you today?" Eleanor asked.  
  
"Good. Susan on the other hand is sick," Carter answered.  
  
"That's a shame," Eleanor said in an uncaring voice.  
  
"Mom can I asked you a question?" Carter asked.  
  
"Sure," Eleanor said as she joined him at the table with two cups of coffee.  
  
"What do you have against Susan?" Carter asked.  
  
"John, I have nothing against her. I just think you two jumped very quickly into the relationship and then even more quickly into an engagement," Eleanor said.  
  
"Is that it?" Carter asked.  
  
"Yes, I guess it is," Eleanor said.  
  
"Mom, I love Susan. I know we jumped into a romance quickly but you need to trust us. We know what we're doing. I don't plan on messing up things with Susan; I love her way too much. As for marriage we aren't getting married for six months, so that gives us even more time together," Carter replied. Eleanor just smiled at Carter.  
  
"John, I love you and always will. If Susan means everything to you then I will love her also. I also believe your Dad will fall in love with her when they meet," Eleanor said.  
  
"Where is Dad anyways?" Carter asked.  
  
"On one of his many business trips, but we've been talking or at least respecting each other. John even though we are divorced I promise that there will be no problems at your wedding," Eleanor said.  
  
"Thanks Mom. So where are we going to eat?" Carter asked.  
  
"How about you go home and be with Susan and I'll go out with your grandmother instead," Eleanor suggested.  
  
"You sure?" Carter asked. Eleanor nodded. With that Carter got up and gave her a hug then bid a farewell.  
  
Carter and Susan's Apartment:  
  
Susan is sitting on the couch, watching television just as Carter walks in.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay put," Carter said as he walked over to the couch and sat down.  
  
"No, you told me to stay here, which means stay in the apartment," Susan answered.  
  
"Well I meant in bed, but since you decided to twist my words around I guess you can stay out here," Carter said.  
  
"You sound like my father," Susan replied.  
  
"Great I just saw my entire future pass right before me," Carter said staring at the television.  
  
"John if you end up like my father I promise you that you will be in an institution," Susan said.  
  
"Now if you end up like your father, then I will call a hit man and have you put out of your misery," Susan said with a grin.  
  
"Okay, I'll allow you to do that only if you allow me to do the same if you end up like your mom or mine," Carter said.  
  
"If I end up like my mom, I'll kill myself," Susan said with a grin.  
  
"So I take it we just made a deal?" Carter asked.  
  
"Yeah it's a deal," Susan replied.  
  
"Well if it is a deal should we seal it with a kiss," Carter suggested.  
  
"You read my mind," Susan said as she leaned in for a kiss. Carter instead lowered her chin and kissed her on the forehead.  
  
"No offense, but I don't need your cold," Carter said. Susan just smiled and pulled his head towards her.  
  
"Suffer," Susan said as she captured his lips with her own. After breaking the kiss Susan laid her head down on Carter's lap and slowly began to fall asleep once again.  
  
  
  
Few Days Later:  
  
Susan and Carter walked into the ER and were immediately greeted by Luka.  
  
"Good Morning," Luka said as the three of them walked into the lounge.  
  
"Hey Luka. Are you just getting off?" Susan asked.  
  
"Yes. How are you feeling by the way?" Luka asked as he grabbed his stuff out of his locker.  
  
"Much better," Susan said as she walked out of the lounge with Carter right behind her.  
  
"You feeling okay, John?" Susan asked as they walked up to the admit desk.  
  
"Yeah. I'm just a little weak," Carter commented as he picked up a chart.  
  
"Maybe you got my cold," Susan suggested.  
  
"No, plus I'm immune, remember?" Carter said with a smile.  
  
"If you get sick can I say I told you so?" Susan asked. Carter just smiled and walked towards exam room two.  
  
Later That Day:  
  
Susan is talking with a patient in exam room four.  
  
"I'll give you some crutches but you will need to stay off your foot for about three weeks," Susan said as she filled out a chart.  
  
"Thanks Dr. Lewis," The patient responded.  
  
"A nurse will be in shortly with the crutches," Susan said as she walked out of the room.  
  
"Anyone know where Carter is?" Susan asked as she dumped the chart at the admit desk.  
  
"I think he is asleep in the lounge," Gallant answered.  
  
"Thanks Gallant," Susan said as she entered the lounge. She walked in to find Carter asleep on the couch.  
  
"John," Susan said quietly as she knelt by him.  
  
"Umm," Carter answered still asleep.  
  
"John wake up," Susan said a little louder. He didn't respond so she was about to shake him when an ambulance pulled up. Carter awoke with the sound.  
  
"What's going on," Carter said somewhat disoriented.  
  
"Nothing John, lay back down." Susan said. Carter did as he was told.  
  
"You don't look so hot," Susan commented a few seconds later.  
  
"Go on and say it," Carter said unhappily.  
  
"Say what?" Susan asked.  
  
"Say that you were right and I was wrong," Carter replied.  
  
"I won't say it, but it does prove you aren't immune to everything," Susan said as she stroked his hair.  
  
"I feel like crap," Carter said as he closed his eyes.  
  
"Why don't you stay here. I have an hour left of work then we will go home," Susan said as she stood up.  
  
"What about my shift?" Carter asked.  
  
"I'll get Luka to cover for you," Susan said as she walked out of the lounge.  
  
"So Susan, is Carter sick?" Deb asked as Susan came out of the lounge.  
  
"Yeah, so don't have anyone disturb him," Susan said as she grabbed a chart. Susan walked over to exam room one.  
  
"Luka, can I talk to you for a moment?" Susan asked as she opened the door.  
  
"Hmm, yeah" Luka said as he followed her out of the room.  
  
"Carter is sick, can you cover for him today?" Susan asked.  
  
"Yeah, are you off soon?" Luka asked.  
  
"One hour left then I'm going to take him home," Susan said.  
  
One Hour Later:  
  
Susan walked back into the lounge and found Carter in the same position as before.  
  
"John, you ready to go home?" Susan asked as she grabbed her stuff out of her locker.  
  
"Yeah," Carter said in a weak voice. Carter then slowly stood up and started to walk to his locker.  
  
"When we get home I want you to go straight…" Susan started to say until she noticed Carter had sat back down.  
  
"John," Susan said as she walked over to him  
  
"I'm okay Susan. I guess I'm not used to being sick," Carter said as he slowly got up. Susan helped him to his locker and then they headed towards his jeep.  
  
"Are you going to make it, John?" Susan asked as they entered the jeep. Carter nodded his head and closed his eyes.  
  
"Go lay down" Susan order Carter as they entered the apartment. Carter did as he was told and headed towards the bedroom. Susan made her way to the kitchen to feed Noah.  
  
"John you need to get undress…" Susan started to say but to her surprise Carter was already asleep in the bed while his clothes were laid out on the bed. Susan smiled and picked up his clothes and tossed them in the hamper and then proceeded to get ready for bed.  
  
"You shouldn't have kissed me," Carter said as Susan climbed into bed.  
  
"Well if I hadn't kissed you wouldn't have gotten sick. Then I wouldn't be able to repay you for taking care of me," Susan said as she looked at Carter.  
  
"Well since you are taking care of me I do have one request," Carter said.  
  
"What is it?" Susan asked.  
  
"Come lay next to me," Carter said as he pulled Susan closer to him. Susan just smiled and the two of them slowly fell asleep in each other's embrace. 


	8. Suspects

Disclaimer: In my own little world I own the characters, but here in reality I don't own anything expect my mind, which I'm selling for $50.00. So if you are interested please contact me at my e-mail.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: A charity event takes on a life of it's own.  
  
  
  
1 Suspects  
  
  
  
Side Note: This is written a little different. I'm trying something new, so please go with it and at the end of the story let me know what you think.  
  
  
  
ER: Lounge  
  
It was mid-day when Kerry Weaver called the meeting. In the lounge sat intern Gregory Pratt, med-student Michael Gallant, Doctor Jing-Mei Chen, and nurse Abby Lockhart at the table. Doctor Luka Kovac stood by the lockers with the other nurses. On the couch sat Doctors John Carter and Susan Lewis. The group waited impatiently for their superior to enter the lounge and explain the reason for this unknown meeting.  
  
"Is everyone here?" Kerry Weaver asked as she entered the lounge. Everyone nodded as she looked around the room.  
  
"Alright here is the deal, Carter's parents are having a charity event and it is being held here. Any money brought in will be given to the hospital for repairs and new equipment, Carter do you have anything else to say?" she said as she looked towards Carter.  
  
"Not really, all we need to do is our job and try not to disturb the guest," he replied.  
  
"When does this event take place?" Abby asked from the table.  
  
"Umm, 6:00 tonight and goes to about 1:00 in the morning," he answered.  
  
"If there isn't anymore questions I recommend that all of you return to work," Weaver said as she looked around the room. After a few seconds she nodded her head and walked out of the lounge.  
  
"So is your father going to be here tonight?" Susan asked Carter after the rest of the staff left.  
  
"I honesty don't know, he shows up to most of these events and then sometimes he doesn't care. It matters what kind of mood he is in," he answered as he rose to his feet and headed over to the coffee pot.  
  
"Hopefully he will. Does he know about the engagement?" she asked as she joined him.  
  
"I haven't talked to him, but he might have heard it from my Mom or Gamma," he replied as he handed her a cup of coffee.  
  
"Thanks for the coffee. I need to get back to work," she said as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and walked of the lounge.  
  
  
  
ER: 5:45pm  
  
  
  
"I'm done, tell me there is no more patients for the time being," Carter said as he dropped the chart on the admit desk.  
  
"It is slow," Jerry said as he looked up from the computer.  
  
"I see everyone is starting to show," Susan said as she walked towards Carter.  
  
"Yeah, and there is my mother," Carter replied as he walked over to the doors.  
  
"Hello Mom," he said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Hello John," Eleanor replied. He smiled and then headed towards the lounge.  
  
"How many people are supposed to be here?" Lydia asked Abby as Carter entered the lounge.  
  
"About 200 people," Carter replied as he pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge.  
  
"Well, it's going to be an interesting night," Lydia replied as she walked out of the lounge.  
  
"So is your entire family showing up tonight?" Abby asked.  
  
"I think so, but I'm never actually sure," Carter replied right before walking out of the lounge.  
  
  
  
6:15pm  
  
"Hey Carter, where have you been?" Weaver asked as Carter came around the corner.  
  
"I've been just walking around," he replied.  
  
"Where is Pratt?" Susan asked as she came out of exam room three.  
  
"He's in exam room two," Jerry replied.  
  
"What's the matter Susan?" Carter asked as he walked up to her.  
  
"The patient in room three hasn't been seen for the last 30 minutes and Pratt is responsible for looking in on him," Susan answered.  
  
"Well, maybe he got tied up," Carter replied.  
  
"This was his only patient," she shot back angrily.  
  
"He is in all likelihood asleep, Susan," he said as he opens the door to the exam room. He noticed the pale facial expression on Susan's face when he opened the door.  
  
"Oh God," he replied as he saw Pratt lying in a pool of blood. He walked over quickly to him to check for a pulse.  
  
"John," Susan said quietly.  
  
"He's dead," he replied looking up at her.  
  
"How?" she asked as she entered the room. Carter's eyes searched the room for any clues to explain his death.  
  
"A Scalpel," he said.  
  
"What?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"He was killed with a scalpel, looks like a clean swipe across the throat," he replied. They heard a scream coming from behind them.  
  
"What happened?" Lydia asked after she finished screaming. Carter was about to explain when the rest of the staff came running in. The only sound heard throughout the room was sounds of gasping.  
  
"We found him like this," Carter said as he was referring to himself and Susan.  
  
"Jerry go and call the cops. Everyone else needs to leave the room," Weaver said in an unstable voice. The staff member shook their heads and slowly made their way out of the room. A few minutes later the cops showed up and started their search. After a while the head officer called everyone present over to the admit desk.  
  
"One dead intern, and no suspects," the police officer said after the body had been taken away.  
  
"Sir, we found the body as it was, no one was in the room," Carter said.  
  
"Who is we?" the officer asked.  
  
"Myself and Doctor Lewis," Carter said. The officer looked at Susan and back at Carter.  
  
"You didn't disturb the body in any way did you?" the officer asked. They both shook their heads no.  
  
"Who was the last to see the victim?" the officer asked.  
  
"I was," Carter answered.  
  
"What's your relation to the victim?" he asked.  
  
"He's my student," Carter replied.  
  
"When did you last see him?" the officer asked.  
  
"Around 5:30 tonight," Carter said.  
  
"The victim died around 6:00pm, had anyone else seen him before that?" the officer asked. The staff shook their heads no.  
  
"Where were you during this time Doctor Carter?" the officer asked.  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?" Carter asked.  
  
"Answer the question Doctor Carter," the officer said.  
  
"I was on the roof," Carter replied.  
  
"Was anyone with you?" the officer asked.  
  
"Of course not," Carter said.  
  
"Did anyone see Doctor Carter go to the roof?" the officer asked. The staff once again shook their heads no.  
  
"Sir can I ask what that has to do with the murder," Susan asked.  
  
"As of now it looks as if Doctor Carter is our prime suspect," the officer said.  
  
"What?" Carter yelled.  
  
  
  
To Be Continued… 


	9. Suspects Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. NBC owns them. However if they wish to use my ideas I would love to meet the cast in return for the idea.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: One person is dead, who is to blame?  
  
  
  
Last Time On ER:  
  
"As of now it looks as if Doctor Carter is our prime suspect," the officer said.  
  
"What?" Carter yelled.  
  
  
  
Onward with the story:  
  
"How in the hell can I be the prime suspect, I didn't do anything," Carter continued to yelled.  
  
"That's what everyone says," the officer said.  
  
"I'm telling the truth," Carter replied once again angrily.  
  
"Doctor Carter I hope you restrain yourself from yelling at me or you will be arrested," the officer said.  
  
"Officer O'Hara, what should we do about the ER?" one of the other officer asked.  
  
"As of now let's keep it open. No one leave this area, that especially means you Doctor Carter," O'Hara said before walking out of the ER. The staff looked at Carter in suspicion  
  
"I didn't do it," Carter said as he noticed the expression on each of their faces.  
  
"No one is blaming you Carter," Weaver said.  
  
"Yeah right, just because he was annoying as hell doesn't mean I wanted to kill him," Carter said.  
  
"Well you have motive," Chen answered after hearing Carter.  
  
"We all have motive, you couldn't stand him because he was always flirting with you," Carter shot back.  
  
"No one is to blame, let just all get back to work," Susan said as she grabbed Carter's hand and pulled him into the lounge.  
  
"I didn't do it Susan," Carter said as they entered the lounge.  
  
"I believe you John," she said as she faced him.  
  
"You might be the only one," he replied with a smile.  
  
"Why don't you stay in here until your needed that way you don't cause problems," she suggested.  
  
"Great I'm being punished for a crime I didn't even commit," he replied as he slumped on the couch.  
  
  
  
7:45pm  
  
"What the hell is wrong with this computer," Weaver asked as she sat down at the admit desk.  
  
"Frank was on it last," Jerry said as he walked over to the computer.  
  
"Where is Frank, he was supposed to stay here until he was needed," Weaver said getting up from the computer.  
  
"I don't know where he's at," Jerry said while trying to fix the computer.  
  
"Well when he shows up, tell him to stay put. I don't want any more of my staff getting a visit from death," Weaver said as she entered the lounge. Susan entered a view minutes later.  
  
"Hey Kerry where did John go?" Susan asked.  
  
"He wasn't in here when I came in," Weaver said as she looked up from the book she was reading.  
  
"I need to go and find him," Susan said as she walked out of the lounge. She spotted Luka walking toward her.  
  
"Hey Luka, have you seen Carter?" Susan asked.  
  
"No. Last time I saw him was when he was named the prime suspect?" Luka said as they walked towards the drug lockup area.  
  
"Oh God," Susan yelled as she notice Carter standing over a body in the drug lockup.  
  
"It's not what you think," Carter said as he faced them.  
  
"How could you Carter?" Susan yelled.  
  
"I didn't do it, I was heading towards the restroom when I noticed something on the floor," Carter said.  
  
"Carter I think you should come out of that area now," Luka said in an angrily voice. Carter just sighed and walked out to where they were standing. Then the three of them headed over to the admit desk.  
  
"Jerry call the cops once again, we have another victim," Luka said as they enter the admit area.  
  
"Who?" Jerry asked.  
  
"Frank" Susan said as she led Carter to the waiting area. Soon enough the cops arrived and started checking out the crime scene.  
  
"Sir, it looks as if he died from strangulation," the officer said.  
  
"What was he strangled with?" O'Hara asked.  
  
"By the looks of it, and IV tube," the officer said.  
  
"Damn, this is turning into one sick murder," O'Hara said as he walked away from the scene.  
  
"Who found the body this time?" O'Hara asked Dr. Weaver.  
  
"Carter did," Weaver said quietly.  
  
"Doctor Carter, it seems to be your lucky day," O'Hara said as he walked towards Carter.  
  
"You know what, I didn't do anything. I keep finding the dead bodies, not making dead bodies," Carter said as he crossed his arms.  
  
"You do keep finding the bodies and we haven't yet found finger prints on any of the items used in the murder, so you have some luck," O'Hara said with a smile.  
  
"That makes me feel better," Carter said sarcastically.  
  
"As of 8:15pm the ER is closed to all traumas," O'Hara said.  
  
"How long are we closed for," Chen asked from the desk.  
  
"Your closed until we can find a killer or the murders stop," O'Hara said as he looked at her.  
  
"Doctor Carter can you please follow me," O'Hara said as he started to walk towards the admit area. Carter nodded and followed him.  
  
"What's going on?" Carter asked as they entered exam room four.  
  
"Well you seem to find the bodies but we have no evidence that you did the murder so for your own safety and everyone else I'm going to handcuff you to this bed until we figure out what's going on," O'Hara said as he pulled out the handcuffs.  
  
"What if the killer comes after me?" Carter said.  
  
"Yell," O'Hara said as he grabbed one of Carter hands and slipped the cuffs on.  
  
"Is this really a good idea?" Carter asked.  
  
"It is the only thing I can think of as now, so yes it is a good idea," O'Hara said as he slipped the other part of the handcuffs to the bed railing.  
  
"Great," Carter murmured under his breath. Susan then walked in.  
  
"Officer O'Hara what are you doing?" Susan asked.  
  
"Keeping Doctor Carter out of trouble," O'Hara said.  
  
"He didn't kill anyone," Susan said.  
  
"You know I've seen you back him up a lot, why is that?" O'Hara asked.  
  
"He's my fiancée," Susan said.  
  
"Well then how do I know that you aren't protecting him?" O'Hara asked.  
  
"You know there is an actually killer out there and your wasting your time on a person who can't even hurt a fly," Susan said angrily.  
  
"Thanks Susan," Carter said sarcastically.  
  
"Well you guys can keep each other entertained until I come back," O'Hara said as he walked out of the room.  
  
"I should get his badge number and call his superior," Susan said looking at Carter.  
  
"Please don't, he already hates me and that will make it worst," Carter said.  
  
"Why did you leave the lounge Carter?" Susan asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
"I went to the restroom then went in search for you," Carter said.  
  
"You just happen to come upon Frank's body," Susan said. Carter shook his head yes.  
  
"Susan you should get back to…" Carter was starting to say when they heard a scream come from outside of the room. Susan ran out of the door leaving Carter.  
  
"Don't leave me in here by myself," Carter yelled as she ran out of the door.  
  
"What is going on?" Susan asked as she entered the lunchroom. She looked around the crowd then noticed the body on the ground.  
  
"What happened to him," Susan said to Weaver.  
  
"I came in searching for him to see if he had everything done and then I found him like this," Weaver said quietly.  
  
"Luka go call the cops, everyone else get back to work," Susan said as she looked around the room.  
  
8:15pm  
  
"What in the hell is wrong with you people," O'Hara yelled as he entered the ER.  
  
"I leave for less than thirty minutes and there is another murder," O'Hara said to the staff.  
  
"Officer O'Hara I promise no one my staff is doing this," Romano said.  
  
"Who are you?" O'Hara asked.  
  
"I'm Dr. Robert Romano, head of this staff, and head surgeon," Romano replied.  
  
"Well Doctor Romano you have three dead staff members and no witness or any suspects except one," O'Hara said.  
  
"John didn't do this murder or any of the others," Susan said.  
  
"Where is Doctor Carter?" O'Hara asked.  
  
"Where you left him," Susan said. O'Hara glared at her than proceeded to the exam room.  
  
"Doctor Carter you are being released," O'Hara said as he entered the room.  
  
"How come?" Carter asked.  
  
"There was another murder. It happened during the time I was with you so you can't be the murderer," O'Hara said as he unlocked the handcuffs.  
  
"I told you so," Carter said as he started heading towards the door.  
  
"Don't go far Doctor Carter you're still under suspicion," O'Hara said. As Carter walked out of the door he was greeted by Abby.  
  
"So they let you go free," Abby said.  
  
"Yeah. Or at least until they find another reason to consider me a suspect," Carter said as they headed towards the admit desk.  
  
"Who was murdered this time?" Carter asked.  
  
"Gallant, Weaver found his body in the lunchroom, he had been shocked to death," Abby said.  
  
"That's weird," Carter replied as he sat down at one of the admit chairs.  
  
"What is weird?" Abby asked.  
  
"The way each person has been murdered. They are killed by medical equipment which might mean one of the killers is a doctor or a nurse," Carter said.  
  
"Or maybe the person is insane," Abby said as she walked away from the desk.  
  
"I think Abby did it," Jerry said from behind Carter.  
  
"Why?" Carter asked.  
  
"She was gone every time one of the murders happened. She has motive to kill each of the victims," Jerry said.  
  
"It is not Abby, she couldn't kill anyone," Carter said as he sat up.  
  
"How can you be so sure," Jerry said as Carter walked away from the admit desk.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Carter asked.  
  
"Any of us can be the killer, even you or me, Carter. It just matters who has the guts to kill their associates," Jerry said.  
  
"Jerry, you are starting to scare me," Carter said as he walked into the lounge. 


	10. Suspects Part 3

Disclaimer: We may not own the characters, but we're certainly having a fun time killing them all. Besides, NBC can always bring them back.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: The murders continue.  
  
  
  
Previously on ER:  
  
  
  
"Any of us can be the killer, even you or me, Carter. It just matters who has the guts to kill their associates," Jerry said.  
  
"Jerry, you are starting to scare me," Carter said as he walked into the lounge.  
  
  
  
Onward with the story:  
  
Carter walks into the lounge to find Susan sitting at the table gently sobbing. Carter sighs quietly, heads over to the table and puts his arm around Susan as he sits next to her.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked.  
  
"I'll be fine when our shifts finally end, so we can just go home and get away from this nightmare," she replied between sobs. Carter nods his head to her remark.  
  
"I can't believe he was murdered. Hopefully no one else will be murdered tonight," he replied after a moment of silence.  
  
"Do they have any new suspects, other than me?" he asked after another brief silence.  
  
"No," she said quietly just as Officer O'Hara walks in.  
  
"I need to ask you two to leave the lounge," he requested of them.  
  
"Why?" Carter asked.  
  
"I'm going to use this room to hold interrogations of each of the staff members since we still haven't nailed the murderer," O'Hara said as he set two chairs across the lounge table from each other.  
  
"At least I'm off the list," Carter said.  
  
"Not yet Doctor," O'Hara replied as he sat at the table.  
  
"Who's first?" Susan asked as she got up.  
  
"Why don't we start with good old Dr. Carter?" O'Hara said. With that Carter slumped into the chair across from O'Hara. Susan looks at him and squeezes his hand before leaving. O'Hara slowly pulls out a paper and sets everything in front of him before finally looking up at Carter.  
  
"Please state your full name."  
  
"Dr. John Truman Carter."  
  
"Where were you at 6:00pm tonight?"  
  
"On the roof."  
  
"What were you doing on the roof?"  
  
"Thinking."  
  
"Was anybody with you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What was your relationship to Mr. Pratt?"  
  
"He was my student."  
  
"Did you have anything against your student?"  
  
"Other than he was a smart ass?"  
  
"Dr. Carter this is not a joking matter."  
  
"Sorry. No, I didn't."  
  
"Where were you at 7:30 this evening?"  
  
"In the lounge, where Susan left me."  
  
"When did Susan leave you in the lounge?"  
  
"Around 7:00pm."  
  
"Was there anyone else with you after she left?"  
  
"No."  
  
"So you were alone from between the time she left you and when the body was found by you."  
  
"Very good."  
  
"So you had time to kill Frank Evans before you 'found' the body?"  
  
"I didn't do it, I only found the bodies."  
  
"So you want me to believe that you had nothing to do with either murder when you were gone with no alibis and no witnesses as to your whereabouts during both murders?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"For the record, where you at 8:10pm?"  
  
"Handcuffed in the exam room with Susan, where you had just left us."  
  
"Okay, thank you for your time Dr. Carter, you're free to go, please send in Dr. Kerry Weaver."  
  
Carter walks out of the lounge and heads towards the admit desk.  
  
"Kerry, you're up next," he said as he notices her sitting there with Jerry. She nods and heads toward the lounge.  
  
"How'd it go?" Abby asked Carter as she walks up to the admit desk.  
  
"Wonderful, I'm still the prime suspect for two of the murders," he replied. Abby just looks at him apologetically.  
  
"Where's Susan?" Carter turned and asked Jerry.  
  
"On the roof," he replied. Carter leaves the admit desk and heads to roof to find Susan. Carter walks onto the roof to find Susan sitting on the edge looking at the city below.  
  
"Things aren't that bad, please don't jump," Carter said.  
  
"I wasn't thinking of that, but now that you've mentioned something," she said in return without turning to look at her visitor.  
  
"But who would feed Noah?" He asked as he sat next to her.  
  
"No one since you'd be in jail," she replied as she laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"That hurt," he said, putting his arm around her.  
  
"How'd the interrogation go?" She asked after a moment.  
  
"The best fifteen minutes of my life," he answered sarcastically.  
  
"We should get back down to the ER before they start to think you're off murdering someone else," Susan said. Susan and Carter get up from the roof and head back down to the ER. They're greeted by O'Hara as soon as they reach the admit desk.  
  
"I thought I told you not to leave Dr. Carter." He said.  
  
"He came looking for me," Susan said in return.  
  
"Where's Dr. Kovac, he's next on the interrogation list," Officer O'Hara said looking to the staff around him.  
  
"Last I saw him, he was in exam room two," Abby said from the admit desk. O'Hara nodded and headed over to the exam room. The staff follows Officer O'Hara and watches his expression as he opens the door.  
  
"Oh shit," Carter said as he looks over Officer O'Hara's shoulder and notices Luka's body on the bed. Abby comes beside Carter and is unable to move any farther at the sight of Luka's body. O'Hara walks in to check the body out.  
  
"What happened?" Carter asked.  
  
"Maybe I should ask you Dr. Carter," O'Hara said as he looked up at Carter. Carter opens his mouth to speak, but Susan cuts him off before he gets the chance to.  
  
"He was with me on the roof ever since he left your interrogation," she said.  
  
"Good, now his fiancée is his only alibi," O'Hara rebukes her.  
  
"How was he killed?" Abby quietly interrupted them.  
  
"His head was almost completely severed by a rib saw," Officer O'Hara replied. Abby gasped and collapsed on the floor in tears. Susan kneels down and pulls Abby against her to comfort her. The staff looks upon each other, wondering who could have done it. Everyone's eyes seem to rest upon Carter more than anyone. Carter shakes his head and leaves the room, in search of his mother. He finds his mother in the chairs and he sits down beside her.  
  
"What's going on?" She asked. He looks at her wondering how to tell her that his fellow associates had been murdered.  
  
"I heard about what happened. How can they even think of you as the prime suspect?" She turned and asked him.  
  
"I seem to be the lucky one that keeps finding the bodies," he replied.  
  
"How's Susan dealing with it?" She asked.  
  
"Well enough, considering the circumstances," he said. Carter notices O'Hara and Susan walk into the lounge.  
  
"I guess it's Susan's turn now," he said.  
  
"For what?" She asked.  
  
"O'Hara is interrogating everyone about the murders," he answered.  
  
  
  
In the lounge:  
  
"Where were you at 6:00 pm this evening?" O'Hara began the interrogation after getting her full name.  
  
"Checking on a patient."  
  
"What patient?"  
  
"David Wyle."  
  
"Was the patient conscious?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What is his diagnosis?"  
  
"Broken wrist from a bike riding accident."  
  
"So he could attest for your whereabouts?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What was your relationship to Gregory Pratt?"  
  
"He was my fiancée's student."  
  
"Please state the full name of your fiancée."  
  
"Dr. John Truman Carter."  
  
"How long have you been engaged?"  
  
"A little over a month. What does this have to do with the murders?"  
  
"Do you trust him?"  
  
"Of course I do. He didn't commit the murders."  
  
"How can you be sure?"  
  
"Because I know John."  
  
"Where were you come 7:30 this evening?"  
  
"I was doing a round on patients after leaving Carter. Abby and I ran into each other and she asked me to join her for a bite to eat in the cafeteria."  
  
"What happened after that?"  
  
"I finished my round of the patients and went in search of Carter and that's when I found him with Frank's body."  
  
"Where were you at 8:10?  
  
"In the exam room where you left Dr. Carter handcuffed to the bed with me."  
  
"You were with him the entire time?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Where were you at 9:30 this evening?"  
  
"On the roof."  
  
"Was anyone with you?"  
  
"Yes, Dr. Carter."  
  
"What were you doing on the roof?"  
  
"Sitting, thinking and talking with my fiancée."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Who's going to feed our cat after I jump off the roof and then poor Carter is arrested for three murders with no alibi."  
  
"Were you contemplating suicide Dr. Lewis?"  
  
"No, we were just joking with each other. It's how we relieve tension and comfort each other."  
  
"So you were comforting each other on the roof?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Did you and Dr. Carter leave the roof together?"  
  
"Yes. We went to the ER."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"So John could get back to the ER so he wouldn't be accused of committing more murders."  
  
"Did you go straight from the roof to the ER?"  
  
"Yes, and we were very cheerily greeted by you."  
  
"Thank you for your time Dr. Lewis. You're free to go." Susan nods and leaves the lounge. She heads to the cafeteria for a soda where she is greeted by the nurses.  
  
"So Susan, we heard that you and Carter were handcuffed in an exam room together," Lydia said.  
  
"No, no Susan handcuffed Carter in the exam room," Haleh replied.  
  
"Wait, I thought Carter handcuffed Susan in the exam room," Conni corrected her.  
  
"Actually Officer O'Hara handcuffed Susan and Carter together in the exam room before he left," Chuny said.  
  
"Or maybe they were handcuffed with Officer O'Hara to get Carter off the hook," Lydia finishes as all the nurses erupt into giggles.  
  
"This is not a funny situation. Officer O'Hara handcuffed Carter in the exam room so he couldn't get himself into any more trouble," Susan tried to correct the nurses.  
  
"So being handcuffed and left alone in an exam room with you is supposed to keep him out of trouble?" Haleh asked innocently.  
  
"I give up," Susan said exasperated as she grabs a soda and sits down next to the nurses, secretly relieved for the release from all the tension.  
  
"So Susan, who do you think did it?" Chuny asked after a moment to recover from the giggles and become serious.  
  
"I don't know, why not you four?" Susan said keeping her eyes on her soda.  
  
"Hey now!" Conni said.  
  
"But then again, it could be a conspiracy against you and Carter just to get you two handcuffed together," Lydia said.  
  
"Yeah, because you two always like to be so close, we figured we could give you some private time so your cuddliness doesn't annoy us," Chuny said sarcastically.  
  
"Honestly though, who do you think did it?" Haleh asked.  
  
"Honestly I don't know. I don't want to even think that anyone here could be responsible. Now I don't even know whom to trust," Susan said looking around at the nurses.  
  
"Not even Carter?" Conni asked. Susan just looked back down at her soda.  
  
  
  
To Be Continue… 


	11. Suspects Part 4

Disclaimer: Since we don't own the characters we're going to make sure that there are none left to own.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: Murders, murders and more murders.  
  
  
  
  
  
Previously:  
  
  
  
"Honestly though, who do you think did it?" Haleh asked.  
  
"Honestly I don't know. I don't want to even think that anyone here could be responsible. Now I don't even know whom to trust," Susan said looking around at the nurses.  
  
"Not even Carter?" Conni asked. Susan just looked back down at her soda.  
  
  
  
  
  
Onward with the story:  
  
Abby's sitting at the admit desk crying when Carter walks over and sits down next to her.  
  
"How are you holding up?" He asked.  
  
"How do you think?" Abby manages between sobs. Carter pulls her against him and tries to comfort her. Abby continues crying.  
  
"Well, at least you know that Luka didn't commit the murders," he said, again trying to comfort her.  
  
"So you did do it?" Abby suddenly accuses him as she pulls out of his embrace.  
  
"What?" Carter said taken aback.  
  
"You never liked him from the beginning, you hated Pratt and didn't care for Frank or Gallant," she started yelling at him.  
  
"Hey, hold on there, I didn't commit any of the murders! There was no way for me to murder Gallant, I was handcuffed in the exam room with Susan, remember? And as for Luka, I was on the roof with Susan," Carter yelled back at her.  
  
"How do I or anyone else know that Susan hasn't been your accomplice for these murders?" Abby shot back. Carter just glares at her, hurt that she could really believe such thoughts, and leaves the admit area. Abby collapses into tears again. A little while later, Abby regains control of herself and goes in search of Kerry. In the meantime, Carter went for a walk around the ER and finally headed toward the cafeteria where he found Susan and the nurses.  
  
"How is everyone doing?" Carter asked as he entered. Susan and the nurses look up and just as someone was about to answer they hear a scream. After one glance at each other they all bolt from the cafeteria toward the sound of the scream. They find Abby back in the admit area completely hysterical as the elevator closed slowly behind her.  
  
"The roof, Deb and Kerry," Abby manages before collapsing on the floor. Everyone takes off for the roof, except for Carter who stays to comfort Abby. Officer O'Hara is the first to step out of the elevator and immediately sees two bodies lying face down in a large pool of blood with medical scissors sticking straight out of their backs. He turns and looks at the shocked people behind him.  
  
"Where's Dr. Carter?" He asked. Everyone looked around and then looked back at Officer O'Hara.  
  
"I think I saw him stay down with Abby," Lydia said. Everyone went back down the elevator suddenly worried for Abby. Susan steps out of the elevator first this time and runs over to Carter as he sits there, eyes transfixed on the corner.  
  
"Where's Abby?" She asked.  
  
"After yelling that the modern day Bonnie and Clyde have struck again, she took off. I don't know where she went," he said before leaning his head on Susan. Officer O'Hara begins his search through the hospital in search of Abby, thinking over the previous conversation he overheard between Carter and Abby. After searching through the hospital he finally heads toward the lounge to collect his personal belongings when he notices a smear of blood underneath the door. He slowly opens the door and notices a body lying on the floor with a jacket wrapped over the face. He pulls out a pair of plastic gloves and pulls off the jacket to see Abby's face. He looks at the jacket and finds the name Dr. John Carter embroidered upon it. He gently places the body down with the jacket and heads back to where he last saw Dr. Carter. As he walks out he notices Susan tending to a scratch on his arm.  
  
"What happened?" Officer O'Hara asked.  
  
"Abby attacked me and scratched my arm as I was trying to comfort her, before she took off," Carter said as Susan finished bandaging it.  
  
"Did anybody see this happen?"  
  
"No, everyone else was on the roof with you."  
  
"Dr. Lewis, please step away from Dr. Carter. Dr. Carter, I'm placing you under arrest for five of the seven murders committed today," O'Hara said as he pulled Carter's arms behind him and placed handcuffs across his wrists.  
  
"Dr. Lewis, be warned you're under direct order to not leave this hospital. You're under suspicion as his accomplice," O'Hara finished as he pulled Carter to his feet, to take him to the car. Mrs. Carter walks in as Officer O'Hara begins leading Carter from the hospital.  
  
"Where are you taking my son?" She asked angrily.  
  
"Madam, you're son is under arrest for murder," O'Hara replied calmly.  
  
"You have no proof," a voice said.  
  
"And who would you be?" Officer O'Hara asked to the stranger.  
  
"Jack Carter, his father," he said.  
  
"Please step aside sir, your son's jacket was used to smother nurse Abby Lockhart to death in the lounge," Officer O'Hara finished as he led Carter from the hospital. Susan collapses into tears on the floor with the nurses completely stunned around her.  
  
  
  
Outside the hospital:  
  
Officer O'Hara is about to push Carter inside the car when he's suddenly bludgeoned across the side of the head with a medical hammer.  
  
"Get out of the car," a mysterious voice said as he grabbed the keys from Officer O'Hara and unlocked his handcuffs.  
  
"Go find your fiancée," he said as he turned to leave.  
  
"And Dr. Carter," he continued as Carter quickly heads back to the ER. Carter stops and turns toward the masked figure.  
  
"Trust no one," he said before disappearing around the corner. Carter looks at the empty space left by the masked man before running back into the ER. He immediately notices the dim lights and the eerily empty room. Scared for Susan's life, he grabs an IV tube from the desk and wraps it around his wrist as he notices a light from underneath an exam room door. He quietly walked toward it, and hearing quiet sobbing from inside, slowly opens the door. He finds Susan curled in the corner shaking and crying.  
  
"What happened Susan?" He asked as he began walking toward her.  
  
"We had a blackout just after Officer O'Hara took you away. How did you get away from him?" She asked, frightened.  
  
"He was knocked out by a masked figure. I was too worried about you to find out who it was, and when I walked in and found all the light out I got scared and had to find you," Carter said, taking another step toward her. Susan suddenly notices him holding the IV tube and immediately jumped off the floor.  
  
"What's that for?" She asked as she backs up slowly towards the tray, where her hand slowly grasps a scalpel.  
  
"It's for our protection," Carter replied, taking one more step toward her.  
  
"Back off John," Susan yelled, as she held the scalpel toward him. 


	12. Suspects Part 5

Disclaimer: We're hyper, excited and full of sugar and caffeine. So, while we may not own the characters, we can't promise what we'll do with them.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: May the truth be known.  
  
  
  
  
  
Previously:  
  
Susan suddenly notices him holding the IV tube and immediately jumped off the floor.  
  
"What's that for?" She asked as she backs up slowly towards the tray, where her hand slowly grasps a scalpel.  
  
"It's for our protection," Carter replied, taking one more step toward her.  
  
"Back off John," Susan yelled, as she held the scalpel toward him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
On with the story:  
  
"Whoa, hold on a second, Susan, what's wrong?" Carter said, putting his hands up in defense.  
  
"Just stay away from me," Susan said, holding the scalpel shakily in front of her.  
  
"Susan, you don't believe that I did it?" He asked worriedly.  
  
"What am I supposed to think? I suppose you just got that scratch by accident," she said accusingly.  
  
"I told you… Fine, you want to believe that I could do that, then go ahead, but remember, you said yes to me," he finished before storming out, scared, hurt and confused. Susan looked stunned for a second and then ran after him.  
  
"John," she began. Carter slowly turns around and just when his eyes met Susan's, the masked figured appeared behind him.  
  
"Watch out!" Susan yells just as the masked figure throws Carter against the wall, dazing him as he falls to the floor. The masked figure looks down at him and then raises his eyes to meet Susan's.  
  
"It was you," she said. The figure looked at her, but remained silent.  
  
"Who are you?" She asked. The figure just shakes his head.  
  
"Then why did you do it?" She tried again, but again received no response from the figure. Instead the figure just takes a step toward the admit desk and picks something up. As he turns back to Susan she notices a dull gleam reflect off the scalpel in his hands. With terror filled eyes she bolts for the stairs. As she reaches the next floor, she steps off of the stairs just in time to see the elevator doors opening and the masked figure right behind them. She takes off back down the stairs. With fear coursing through her she jumps down the last five steps and runs into someone. She screams and slaps him. As the figure fell to the floor she realized that it was Carter.  
  
"Dammit, John are you okay?" She cried as she fell to his side, trying to pull him up before the figure came out of the elevator.  
  
"Of course, being knocked into the wall repeatedly just helps knock some sense into me," he said using Susan to help him back to his feet. Just as Carter gets to his feet, they hear the ding of the elevator doors open. Both heads snap to the elevator to find no one behind the doors. Carter looks back at Susan and then snaps his head toward the stairs just in time to see the shadow of a figure emerging down the steps. Carter looks back to Susan.  
  
"Run, NOW!" He yells as he grabs Susan's hand and takes off for the exit. They reach the doors, feeling salvation just beyond. Just as their hands push at the doors in front of them, they're immediately thrown back.  
  
"Who locked the damn doors?" Susan screamed.  
  
"Do you have to ask?" Carter yelled back, as he grabbed Susan's hand again. They head back toward the admit desk and quickly duck under it.  
  
"Oh, yeah, great hide out," Susan whispered heatedly.  
  
"Got a better idea?" Carter threw back at her, just in time to look up and see the masked figure towering over them. Carter immediately leaps up and tackles him, and watches the scalpel slide across the floor. Carter raises a fist to knock the figure out when he pushes back and nails Carter in the throat with his forearm, pinning him against the side of the admit desk and choking him in the process. Susan hears the struggle and peers around the side to see Carter struggling for breath. Scared and without a better idea, she grabs the phone from off of the admit desk and struck the masked figure across the back of the head, knocking him out and freeing Carter.  
  
"Thanks," Carter manages, while gasping for breath. Susan helps Carter to his feet again and they stand in each other's arms, looking at the unconscious figure below them.  
  
"What should we do now?" Susan asked, looking up at Carter.  
  
"Tying him up might be a good start," Carter said as he headed toward the nearest medical supply room. Carter emerges with a big roll of gauze and a chair.  
  
"He tries to kill us and you want to bandage his wounds," Susan says reproachfully.  
  
"I am a doctor after all. Now, help me get him into this chair so we can tie him down before he wakes up," he said and he grabbed the guy under the arms.  
  
"Have you ever done this before?" Susan asked, as she helped situate the figure in the chair.  
  
"No," Carter replied as he started unwrapping the roll of gauze.  
  
"Then how do you know it's going to work?" She asked as she held the figures arms against the chair.  
  
"I don't, but I saw something like it in a movie once," Carter said with a grin.  
  
"Oh, that's comforting. We're tying up a murderer based on what you saw in a movie. I feel so much better," Susan said as she held the figures legs to the chair, so Carter could finish strapping him down.  
  
"Trust me," he said as he stood up and gave Susan a quick kiss. They step back together and look at the killer.  
  
"Who do you think it is?" Susan asked.  
  
"Why don't we find out?" Carter said, as he and Susan stepped back toward the figure. Susan reaches out and lifts the mask.  
  
"Jerry," she whispered quietly. Carter turns around and looks toward the corner behind him with a smile.  
  
"Get that mom?" He asked the blinking red light on the wall.  
  
  
  
  
  
In the surgical waiting room:  
  
Carter's mother looks down at the basket full of checks in front of her, and then looks out at the crowds of people cussing themselves out while others were cheering.  
  
"Once again, it was a great game Eleanor," a woman's voice said, coming up next to her.  
  
"We had a bunch of good players. Couldn't ask for a better set than the characters from the ER," she said.  
  
"But I do have one question. What relationship does Susan have to your son?" The same voice asked.  
  
"She's my soon-to-be daughter-in-law," Eleanor said proudly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Back in the ER:  
  
Carter is slowly tapping his hand against Jerry's face, trying to wake him.  
  
"How hard did you hit him?" He turned and asked Susan.  
  
"Not that hard, I don't think," Susan said as she notices the staff coming off of the elevator, alive and well.  
  
"It's nice not to be dead anymore," Abby said as she walked up next to Carter and Susan.  
  
"Same here," Gallant said behind her.  
  
"Personally, I think my death was the best," Luka said as he ran a finger across his neck.  
  
"Yeah, Officer O'Hara did a really nice job on the blood," Carter said just as Officer Impersonating Mike O'Hara walked into the ER.  
  
"Of course, my acting department specializes in nothing but the best," he said proudly.  
  
"I have a question," Carter said.  
  
"Jerry was only here for five of the murders. Who committed the first two?" Carter asked as he looked at everyone's baffled face.  
  
"I think I can answer that question," Carter's father said with a diabolical grin as he came into the ER.  
  
"It was you?" Carter asked in disbelief.  
  
"Why not? It's not everyday a father gets to set up his own son," Jack said as he walked up and put an arm around Carter.  
  
"I knew about Jerry, but why didn't I know about you?" Carter asked, still a little confused.  
  
"I knew," Susan said as she stepped up next to Jack.  
  
"Why did she know and not me?" Carter asked stunned.  
  
"Because I like her better," Jack said as he put an arm around Susan.  
  
"Don't I just feel so loved," Carter said, looking pouty.  
  
"Oh, you know I love you, most of the time," Susan said with a grin as she cuddled up against Carter.  
  
"Oh don't I just feel so special," he said as he put his arms around Susan, with his father chuckling in the background.  
  
"You two are pathetic," Eleanor said with a grin just as her and a group of the charity people emerged from the elevator. Eleanor led them to the chairs and started getting them situated as they waited for the rest of the charity people to join them. Once everyone was seated, acting officer Mike O'Hara stood in front of them, ready to go over the night's proceedings.  
  
"Welcome to the ER Stat Murders, tonight you witnessed seven murders. Three of them committed by Jack Carter and four by Jerry Markovic," Mike began.  
  
"But I thought Jerry committed the last five murders," a voice from the crowd piped up.  
  
"It would seem that way wouldn't it? But as with any good murder mystery you never really know the whole truth. In actuality, the last murder was also committed by Jack. How do you think he was able to get Carter's coat?" Mike said with a grin.  
  
"This game has gone on for many years, but this year has been our most successful turn out. We thank you for all the donations, and we hope the betting was fun. For the winners we have $500 gift sets. The rest of the prizes, ranging from $50-$500, will be put up for raffle. Everyone gets a free ticket for donating, and any extra tickets will be $3 a ticket. Hope everyone enjoyed this year's murder mystery," Mike said as he brought all the characters on stage for a final bow.  
  
  
  
Three hours later:  
  
With the raffle done, prizes dispersed and guests gone, the ER is quiet. Carter notices his mom coming out of the elevator with a rather think envelope in her hand.  
  
"What's that for?" He asked as she approached him and the rest of the staff.  
  
"It's the total donations that the ER earned," she said as she handed him the envelope with a smile.  
  
"I'll see you later," she said as she and Jack left the ER.  
  
"How much did we raise?" Lydia asked, as the staff gathered around Carter. He opens the top flap and notices a total printed on it.  
  
"$500,000 for the ER," Carter said gleefully as the entire staff erupted into cheers.  
  
"It must have been the handcuff scene that did it," Chuny said as she sidled up next to Lydia.  
  
"Or that slap that Susan gave Carter," Haleh chimed in.  
  
"Speaking about Susan, where is she?" Carter asked, in an attempt to ignore the troublesome nurses, as he handed the envelope to Kerry.  
  
"She's on the roof," Jerry said.  
  
"You didn't kill her did you?" Carter asked sarcastically as he entered the elevator. Jerry just smiled.  
  
  
  
On the roof:  
  
Carter emerges from the elevator, walks over and puts his arms around Susan. She leans back against his chest, and continues looking up at the stars.  
  
"We raised $500,000 for the ER," Carter said, looking up at the stars with her.  
  
"Not bad for a day's work," Susan said with a smile.  
  
"And to think we didn't lose anybody," Carter said.  
  
"Funny, very funny," Susan said.  
  
"It ended up being a clear night for Halloween," Carter said, eyes still perusing the sky.  
  
"What do you say we head home before the sun rises?" Susan said as she turned around in Carter's embrace. Carter nodded as he looked down at his watch.  
  
"Almost five months," Carter said.  
  
"Almost five months?" Susan questioned him.  
  
"It's 3:00 am, November 1st. Four months and 23 days, till we get married," Carter said, gazing into Susan's eyes. Susan just looked up at him and smiled, before leaning in for kiss.  
  
"Why don't we head home and celebrate?" Susan asked.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Carter said as he and Susan headed for the elevator together, hand in hand and arm in arm. 


	13. Home and Handcuffs

Disclaimer: Hmmm… what to say, what to say… 'think, think'. Well, we don't own the characters, and we won't be killing them this time around … we don't think;)  
  
Rating: PG - 14.5 +  
  
Summary: This chapter is supposed to be about something???  
  
  
  
1 Home and Handcuffs  
  
  
  
Morning: ER  
  
Carter walks into the ER, looking less than happy when he notices that it's rather empty. After peering into the lounge and a couple of the nearest exam rooms he still finds no one, which just adds to his already dour mood.  
  
"Susan where are you?" He mutters to himself. With no other options left he decides to head outside, figuring the staff has probably decided to go out and enjoy the first snowfall of the year. As he steps outside to look around he is immediately pelted with a large snowball and ends up landing on the ground. He looks around and finds Susan giggling and looking rather guilty with the rest of the staff around her laughing hysterically. Standing up he gets a mischievous look in his eye.  
  
"Oh no," Susan whispers as she starts turning around to bolt. Before she gets more than three steps away Carter tackles her in the snow. After a few minutes of a tackle fight, Susan and Carter relax, still lying in the snow.  
  
"Why throw snowballs at people, when you can just throw people at the snow?" Carter asked Susan as they sat up. Susan turns to look at him with a playful glare and immediately pins him back down in the snow.  
  
"I agree completely," she said as she leaned down to give Carter a kiss.  
  
"Oh come you two, don't you ever get enough tonsil hockey at home?" Lydia asked. Carter and Susan break the kiss and look back at Lydia to give her a smart mouth reply when the rest of the staff starts pelting them with snowballs. Carter grabs Susan and pulls her behind a small snow bank for cover.  
  
"Ok, this is war now," Carter calls out as he and Susan start pelting snowballs back at everyone.  
  
"That's not fair, no hiding, we can't be sure what you two are doing back there," Haleh calls back.  
  
"All's fair in love and war," Susan replied as she nails Haleh in the face with a snowball. The snowball fight rages on, when another figure steps out to investigate the proceedings just as Carter picks up another clump of snow.  
  
"What is going --" the person begins to ask as he is pelted in the face by Carter's misguided snowball.  
  
"Good shot Carter," Abby said.  
  
"Sorry, Dr. Romano," Carter sheepishly replied as Romano began to get with a less than pleased look on his face.  
  
"Everyone, back into the ER and back to work, immediately," he said before turning around and storming back into the ER.  
  
"No wonder Romano hates you," Deb said with a smirk as they began to head back into the ER.  
  
"My hand slipped," Carter said and he stepped up beside her.  
  
"Is that why you transferred out of surgery?" Conni asked as she sidled past Carter, noticing a big grin on Deb's face with the comment. Carter just glared at her retreating figure as they all headed back inside. As they headed back into the ER, Jerry came up to Carter.  
  
"A phone call just came for you Carter," Jerry began as Carter walked over to the admit desk, with Susan at his side.  
  
"The exterminator called and said the earliest he can be at your apartment is Thursday," Jerry said as he handed him a memo with the exterminator's number on it.  
  
"Why do we need an exterminator?" Susan asked, turning toward Carter.  
  
"We have termites. That's what I was going outside to tell you, before you pelted me with a snowball," Carter said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Where's Noah?" Susan asked, blithely ignoring the last part of Carter's statement.  
  
"I sent him to the pound where he belongs," Carter said sarcastically which immediately received a slap on the shoulder from Susan.  
  
"No, my mom came and picked him up. He's back at the mansion, where we'll be staying for the next few days," Carter said as he hurriedly headed toward the lounge.  
  
"We're staying with your parents?" Susan asked a little under whelmed as she immediately followed right behind Carter.  
  
"What's wrong with that?" Carter asked innocently.  
  
"We stayed there when we first moved in together," Carter continued a little more seriously.  
  
"This'll be fun," Susan said with just a hint of sarcasm as she stepped into the lounge ahead of him.  
  
"What's wrong with my parents?" Carter lightly demanded.  
  
"Your parents are fine, it's you I'm worried about," Susan said with a glimmer of mischief.  
  
"We're not that loud," Carter said with an evil smile.  
  
"I'm not the loud one, remember," Susan said, leaving Carter momentarily stunned.  
  
"You want to test that theory?" Carter asked as he grabbed Susan in a hug.  
  
"John …" Susan said with a smile.  
  
"I brought the handcuffs," Carter said just before giving her a kiss, and heading out of the lounge. Susan just stood there with a smile, wondering for the millionth time, exactly what she'd gotten herself into.  
  
After an uneventful day of work, and no more run ins with Dr. Romano, Carter and Susan head to the Carter mansion. As they walk in, they're immediately greeted by Mrs. Carter, who just happens to be holding something with a questioning look in her eyes.  
  
"You need these John?" She asked as she held up a pair of handcuffs, causing Carter to immediately turn a few shades lighter than crimson.  
  
"I found them on your bed beside your coat that you hurriedly dropped off this morning before heading to work," she said appearing rather formal as she handed the cuffs over to Carter, just before turning around and heading toward the living area.  
  
"One of the more embarrassing moments of my adult life," Carter said to a now silently giggling Susan.  
  
"Well at least it's your mom, and not Romano," Susan said sarcastically just as she began heading toward the bedroom.  
  
"Don't you ever run out of jokes to make about me?" Carter asked, following behind Susan.  
  
"Never, the nurses and Abby are always giving me more information to use against you," Susan said as she turned and smiled back at Carter, who just shook his head at her.  
  
In the bedroom:  
  
After getting changed, Carter is lying on the bed relaxing while Susan stands at the window, rubbing her neck.  
  
"What's wrong?" Carter asked as he looked over at Susan.  
  
"I think I pulled a muscle in my neck when you pushed me into the snow," Susan said.  
  
"Come over here and lie down so I can give you a massage," Carter said as he sat up. Not one to argue about getting a free massage, Susan went over and lied down. Carter began massaging her back and neck he remembered about the handcuffs sitting in his coat pocket. He quietly removed the handcuffs with one hand as he continued massaging Susan with the other. He attached one cuff to the bedpost and then quickly cuffed Susan with the other. Susan rolled over confused, being as she was just on the verge of sleep.  
  
"What did you do?" Susan asked as she looked at Carter, who had a large smile on his face.  
  
"Got my revenge," Carter said as Susan noticed the handcuffs.  
  
"Unhandcuff me John," Susan said with a smile.  
  
"Always wanted to have you handcuffed to my bed. Now I just need to get another pair for the other hand," Carter said full of mischief.  
  
"Don't even think about it, John," Susan said as she tried to reach for Carter.  
  
"Awh, why not?" Carter asked innocently as he sat back down on the bed, next to Susan.  
  
"What would your mother think if she happened to come up here for you?" Susan asked.  
  
"I locked the door, so that's not a problem," Carter said.  
  
"If you want to have a good honeymoon, you'll undo these handcuffs," Susan said.  
  
"But if I did that now, then I couldn't do this," Carter said just as he began tickling Susan.  
  
"Stop, that's not fair," Susan said in between gasps for breath.  
  
"Oh fine, you win," Carter said as he freed Susan's hand. Susan grabbed Carter's wrist and before he had a chance, she handcuffed his wrist, and took the key from him. Before he could grab her, she slid off the bed.  
  
"Wait a second," Carter said.  
  
"What was it that I said to one of the nurses earlier? Something like, all's fair in love and war," Susan said with a smile and she unlocked the door and slipped out.  
  
"Come on Susan, you can't just leave me here," Carter yelled after her.  
  
"I wasn't planning on it," Susan said as she returned with a camera.  
  
"What are you doing with that?" Carter asked.  
  
"Don't you think the nurses would just love having proof of this scene?" Susan said as she snapped a picture.  
  
"That's just wrong," Carter said.  
  
"What's just wrong?" Carter's mother asked, as she stepped in behind Susan.  
  
"Oh great," Carter muttered.  
  
"Oh you finally managed to tame him. I knew I liked you, Susan," she said just as she turned around to leave, while Carter lies on the bed unsure whether he should be embarrassed, mad or insulted.  
  
"I knew I should've went with my instinct. I should've gotten a hotel room for the next few days," Carter said. With that, Susan erupted into another fit of giggles for the third time that day.  
  
"Ok, fine, I'll undo the handcuffs now," Susan said after she finally recovered from her giggle attack. With handcuffs undone and safely out of reach, Susan sits back on the bed next to an indignant Carter.  
  
"That wasn't very nice you know," Carter said, acting pouty.  
  
"Oh and like your tickling me was," Susan rebuked him.  
  
"But that was fun," Carter said, trying to hide a smile. Susan just glared at him.  
  
"So what should we do now?" Susan asked, once she was finished glaring.  
  
"I have a good idea," Carter said mischievously.  
  
"No more handcuffs," Susan said, scooting over to lay her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Fine, how about we go downstairs for a movie and a bowl of popcorn?" Carter asked as he put his arms around her and laid his head upon hers.  
  
"Sounds good. Are you going to carry me?" Susan asked sweetly.  
  
"No, my wrist hurts too much," Carter said, mocking her sweetness as he got up. Susan shot him yet another playful glare as she hopped off the bed to join him.  
  
  
  
An hour later:  
  
Susan and Carter lay asleep, cuddled together on the couch, with an empty popcorn bowl beside them and the movie still playing in the background as Carter's mother emerges. She notices them cuddled together and smiles. She goes to the closet and pulls out a blanket to tuck them in, wishing them to have sweet dreams together. 


	14. In Any Direction

Disclaimer: I once had a life. It was filled with many dreams. Now it is only filled with ideas for a show called ER, which scares me since I don't own the characters and never will.

Rating: PG-14

Summary: As the wedding approaches our two favorite doctors start to learn more about themselves and each other.

In Any Direction.

Carter's lying on the couch trying to read the newspaper while Noah is attacking the corners.  Susan's sitting at the table flipping through a wedding magazine along with a phone book, when there's a knock at the door.  Since he looks so comfortable on the couch, Susan offers to get the door.  Lydia and Abby come in chatting happily, obviously excited about something.  Carter peers over his paper briefly and then decides he can only get himself into trouble by asking anything, so goes back to the paper.  Abby, Lydia and Susan gather at the table around all the wedding stuff and start chatting.

"So, have you decided on a wedding coordinator?" Lydia asked.

"I'm not sure yet. Who's good?" Susan asked.  Carter suddenly picks up on the conversation and immediately sits up on the couch, turning toward the table, and knocking poor Noah to the floor.

"Wedding coordinator?" He interjects before the conversation can go any farther.

"Yeah, you know, one of those people who help coordinate weddings," Abby retorts.

"I know what a wedding coordinator is, but why?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen, with Noah attacking his stocking feet.

"To help coordinate the wedding," Lydia replied innocently.  Carter just shot a glare at her as he took a seat between her and Susan.

"Hasn't the hospital paged you or something?" Susan asked Carter sweetly.

"I turned off my pager, this proves to be more interesting," Carter answered with a smile.

"So you want to help plan the wedding after I start thinking about getting a wedding coordinator?" Susan asked as she turned to look at him.

"Of course. It's one thing not to do my job, but it's another to let someone else do it for me.  So now I have to help to make sure I get my say in too. Besides I don't want a wedding full of all the big, poofy, cutsy flower patterns, smothering the guests," Carter said, his smile getting bigger.  Susan smacks him on his arm and glares with Abby and Lydia giggling in the background.

"Two points for Carter, for once," Lydia commented, making Carter preen all the more as he started flipping through the wedding magazine in front of Susan.

"Against what?  5,000 for Susan?"  Abby continued, getting a laugh from Susan and wiping the smile from Carter's face.

"Ok, stop picking on John for once.  I like the idea of him helping," Susan said, still suppressing giggles.

"Hmm, what do you think about this dress?" Carter asked Susan, pushing the magazine toward her as he pointed out a rather unflattering dress.

"Then again, on second thought," Susan muttered.

"Carter, maybe you should stick with other aspects of the wedding and let the bride decide on her own, personal, options," Abby said sweetly.

"Fine, what are we looking at first?" Carter asked cheerfully.

"Invitation patterns," Lydia answered as Susan spread out at least twenty different ones in front of him.

"Um, they all look the same," Carter said as he looked down at all of the choices.

"Oh come now.  This one has a different flower pattern, this one has a different writing style," Susan began.

"What was the number of that wedding coordinator you were talking about?" Carter asked hurriedly.

"You're right it did work Lydia," Susan said with a smirk as Carter sat next to her looking rather confused.  Abby picked up the phone and began dialing the number of a highly recommended coordinator.

"Who is Abby calling?" Carter asked.

.

"My friend recommended this coordinator, he is expensive but one of the best," Lydia said. Susan noticed the scared look in Carter's eye.

"John, if you don't want to have a coordinator we won't," Susan said. Carter just looked at her and smiled.

"Susan, it's fine I'm not worried about the money," Carter replied.

"Claudio Tamorro, will be here today at 3:00. He had a cancellation this afternoon, so we got lucky," Abby said as she hung up the phone.

"Claudio?" Carter asked in an unimpressed tone. Lydia just stared at him.

"What is wrong with Claudio, you haven't even met him, so how can you judge him?" Lydia asked.

"I think the name Claudio explains everything," Carter replied. Susan couldn't help but giggle.

"I just had an interesting thought," Susan said after a few seconds.

"What?" Abby asked.

"I was thinking how John and I are going to tell our parents that we have a guy named Claudio planning our wedding," Susan said with a smile.

"It's bad enough we're not having them help us, but now we're having a 'Claudio' help instead. Yeah, they'll love that," Carter said with a grin.

"Well at least I don't need to worry about him flirting with you," Carter said to Susan.

"No, but I might need to worry about him flirting with you," Susan replied.

"Well actually, you both need to worry," Lydia said. Carter and Susan looked at her.

"Please don't tell me he is—" Carter began.

"Yup, why do you think he likes working with couples?" Lydia asked with a smile

"Well this is going to be an interesting afternoon," Carter answered. Susan smiled, leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"We'll work through it," Susan said.

"Are you sure he is our best option?" Carter asked Lydia.

"Of course, he knows how to please both people," Lydia said with a smirk, causing Abby to collapse on the table laughing.

"Let's go out for coffee or something please, I think I need time to absorb all of this," Carter said sounding a little downtrodden.  Abby and Lydia continued giggling as they followed Carter and Susan out of the apartment.

2:30pm: Back at the apartment.

Back from the coffee trip, Carter, Susan, Abby and Lydia crowd back into the apartment.  Abby and Lydia gather back at the table while Susan and Carter cuddle up on the couch.  Before everyone can get comfortable, there comes a knock at the door.  Carter takes a look at his watch as he heads for the door.

"He's a little early," Carter muttered as he unlocked the door.

"Why hello, I'm Claudio.  So good to see you, Carter is it?" The wedding coordinator said in a strongly accented voice as he sidled into the apartment with folders and bags full of examples, with his assistant right behind him bringing in more of the collection.  As Carter watched everything enter his apartment he began dreading the upcoming situation.  Susan led Claudio and his assistant to the table, so they could join Abby and Lydia.  Everyone immediately started chattering about everything, leaving Carter completely clueless and very worried.

"No wonder he gets along with women so well.  He talks more than they do," Carter murmured as he began walking over to the table.  Before he even had the chance to sit down, much less start translating what Claudio was saying, there came another knock at the door.  Susan, Lydia and Abby remained clueless to the new visitor, so Carter took it upon himself to find out who it was.  He opened the door, to Susan's mother, who happened to be looking very cheery.

"Hello.  So sorry to just pop up on you like this, but since Susan mentioned that you both had today off and you have a spectacular wedding to get planned, I thought I should come on over and start helping," Cookie said as she stepped in to the apartment and took a notice at Susan at the table.  Hearing the conversation, Susan turned around, fearing that she recognized that cheery voice.

"Mom, what brings you here?" Susan asked, completely taken away from Claudio for the moment.

"Well you do have a wedding coming up my dear, you need to start planning and who better to help you than your own mother?" She replied as she walked over to the table.

"Oh you be the mother of the bride?  I'm Claudio, the wedding coordinator," he said as he quickly stood up to kiss Cookie's hand, not noticing the suddenly sour expression forming on her face.  Before Cookie could get a chance to say anything, another familiar figure steps through the still open door.

"John, how's the wedding planning going?" Eleanor said causing Carter and Susan to turn toward her.

"I hope you're not planning on getting a wedding coordinator, I can take care of everythi–" Eleanor began to say until she noticed Claudio at the table with all of his books and supplies laid out.

"So you two were planning on coordinating the wedding without involving your own mothers, is that it?" Cookie said, abruptly stepping away from a distraught Claudio and in front of Susan.

"Would you care to explain this, John?" Eleanor asked stepping in front of Carter.  Carter and Susan already fearful of the situation started stepping together in the middle of the room just as both mothers began going off on a tirade.  Carter pulled Susan next to him.

"You sure you don't just want to elope?" Carter said to Susan, trying to be quiet enough to not be overheard.

"Oh, so that's it, you just don't want your in-laws around," Cookie demanded of Carter, after overhearing his remark.

"I brought you up better than that young man," Eleanor said, coming to Cookie's defense.

"ENOUGH!" Susan yelled, immediately silencing the apartment, and probably everyone else within a three block radius.

"Look, if we needed your help, we would ask for it.  This is our wedding and we want to plan it the way we want it.  We don't even know if we're keeping Claudio as our wedding coordinator, but right now he's certainly being a much bigger help than either of you," Susan said still heated.  Feeling insulted Eleanor sharply turns and exits the apartment without another word, with Cookie mumbling apologies following right behind her.

"Ok, well Claudio, should we all sit down and continue while one of you explains to me what he's talking about," Carter said, heading toward the table.  Susan followed behind him and took her seat in between him and Claudio.

"Maybe we should just elope, so we don't have to deal with our wonderful families," Susan muttered as she sat.

"Oh no, you couldn't do that, no you'd miss so much," Claudio immediately began arguing, causing everyone to start laughing.

"Ok, ok, we see your point Claudio, please continue," Lydia said.

"Oh good, good, very good," Claudio said immediately bright as he hopped out of his seat.

"Let's start with the groom here, come on up, up, up now," Claudio said as he began coaxing a very startled Carter to stand up.  As Claudio started running his hands along Carter's shoulders and down his waist, Carter shot Susan a panicked look.

"Don't worry John, he's just getting an idea for tux size," Susan said, trying to be reassuring as Abby and Lydia were doing everything they could to keep from giggling.

"Uh-huh, yeah sure," Carter said, in a less than believable tone.

"Plus you not be my type," Claudio said as he finished, finishing off Lydia and Abby in the process who couldn't hold back their laughter any longer.  Carter shook his head and sat down as Claudio started flipping through one of his magazines.

"For you I have a fabulous design for your masculine figure and the most scrumptious tailor," Claudio began, immediately intriguing the females again as Carter resigned himself to a very long afternoon.

Later that evening:

Susan showed Abby and Lydia out, while Carter collapsed on the couch, thankful that Claudio had left a little over an hour before.

"He just freaks me out.  Are you sure you want him?" Carter asked Susan pleadingly.

"Oh come on, he's absolutely fabulous," Susan said mockingly, walking close to couch, where Carter immediately pulled her into his lap.

"Don't ever say that again. I'll never think of the word 'fabulous' in the same way," Carter said burying his head on Susan's shoulder.

"Oh but seriously John, he's doing a wonderful job and he's making it so easy on us," Susan said, as she ran her fingers through Carter's hair.

"Will you be mad if he mysteriously disappears half way through this?" Carter mumbled into her shoulder.

"John," Susan gently rebuked him.

"Oh fine," Carter grumbled as he lifted his head from Susan's shoulder and kissed her.

"We should call our parent's tomorrow and apologize for our behavior today," Susan said after breaking the kiss.

"Our behavior?" Carter questioned, with a mildly accusing tone.

"I told them off, but you know you would have done the same thing.  Besides you certainly didn't try to stop me," Susan replied. Carter smiled as he lay down on the couch. Susan lay down beside him as her head found a place on his chest.

"Susan you awake?" Carter asked after several minutes. Susan didn't respond. He looks down and noticed Susan fast asleep.

"I can't promise what will happen during the wedding, but I can promise you this much. I will be right by your side no matter how bad things get," Carter said. He looked at Susan once more before falling asleep.

"And I will be by yours," Susan replied after he fell asleep. A smile grew on Carter's lips as the two of them fell asleep peacefully in each other's embrace.

Later the next week:

Carter's walking through the ER, flipping through his charts, thinking about how much better Susan and he felt after calling their parents and apologizing.  Although, he certainly wished that they hadn't bombarded them with extensive guest lists for the wedding.  Well, at least he didn't have to work with Claudio any longer; he left that up to females.

After his ponderings, Carter finds himself in the lounge, where he sees Susan sitting, enjoying a cappuccino.  He walks over to her and leans down to give her a kiss.

"Mmm, tastes good.  Think I'm in the mood for a cappuccino," Carter said with a smile after breaking the kiss.  Susan smiled up at him.

"Get your own," she said smiling, as she pulled her drink away from Carter.

"Didn't your parents teach you how to share?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't my strong point. So back off," Susan said with a playful growl.

"Did you get the final head count?" Carter asked after a moment.

"Well, including everyone from the ER, my family, your family, family friends, our other friends and then extended family of course, well …" Susan began, trying to stall.

"What about three hundred?" Carter asked hopefully.

"Not quite," Susan replied.

"Less?" Carter asked brightly.

"Higher," Susan coughed into her cappuccino.

"How much higher?" Carter asked tentatively.

"Well, not that much higher, I mean considering," Susan said, innocently, staring pointedly at her cappuccino as Lydia walks into the lounge.

"Susan, how many people?" Carter asked sternly.

"Oh it's only 625, not that bad," Lydia said for Susan before immediately exiting the lounge.  Susan slowly looked up at Carter from her cappuccino.

"S-i-x  h-u-n-d-r-e-d  t-w-e-n-t-y  f-i-v-e?" Carter stammered on the verge of anger.

"Something wrong?" Susan asked innocently.

"I think I'll go back to surgery now, it's much easier to deal with," Carter said just before leaving the lounge.  Abby walked in just as Carter was walking out.

"What's wrong with him?" Abby asked, as she grabbed a cup of water.

"Oh, he was just informed of the expected head count," Susan said as Abby sat next to her.

"It can't be that bad.  I mean come on, how many are there?" Abby asked just before taking a sip of water.

"Oh, try 625," Susan said calmly, causing Abby's sip of water to spray across the table.

"Glad you were sitting next to me and not across from me," Susan said before taking a sip of her cappuccino.

"How's that possible?" Abby stammers.

"Carter's side has a lot of family and friends," Susan said matter-of-factly as Lydia slipped back into the lounge.

In the meantime Carter's slowly ambling toward the admit desk with his charts still firmly in hand, when Jerry stops him.

"Hey Carter, a call came for you from someone named Claudio.  He said to tell you that it would be…" Jerry began.

"Tell me it's a nice tiny number," Carter asked nervously.

"Well it is only in the three digits," Jerry said trying to sound optimistic.

"So, what, $150 a head?" Carter asked, nervously hopeful.

"Double it and you're good," Jerry said with a smile as Carter's charts drop to the floor.  Jerry handed him a slip of paper with the figure on it as he watched Carter's jaw slowly close.  Carter picked up the charts in a very methodical matter as he slowly headed back to the lounge.  Looking as if he's on the verge of tears, he stumbles into the lounge and collapses in a chair as his charts slide on the table in front of him, with the slip of paper on top of the stack.

"What's wrong John?" Susan asked concerned, but Carter just stared at the wall.  Abby notices the slip of paper and picks it up.

"$300 a head?" Abby questioned aloud as she read the paper.  With that announcement, Carter's blank look turned to a glare as he faced the three perpetrators.  

"This is all your fault, all three of you.  You and your fancy wedding coordinator," Carter said, in something just short of a growl.  Lydia, Abby and Susan sat there, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Lydia, Abby, could you excuse us for a second?" Susan asked them quietly.

"Not a problem, we have work to do, patients to check, you know," Abby began as she hurriedly stepped to the door.

"Yeah, there's probably a sick patient I need to tend to or something," Lydia said, following right behind Abby.

"I'm sorry?" Susan remarked since Carter wasn't saying anything else.

"You just had to get a wedding coordinator," Carter said quietly.

"Well, I suppose we could cancel the coordinator, call our mothers and let them work together," Susan said, still feigning the innocent act.  Carter sat there a moment, thinking about that possibility as his eyes widened and a panicked expression overtook his face.

"Ok, nevermind, you win, the wedding coordinator was a good idea," Carter said hurriedly.

"We can always knock the guest list down," Susan said as she leaned toward Carter, taking one of his hands in hers.

"Good idea, smaller guest list, very good," Carter said, barely able to get past single syllable words now.

"Everything will be ok, John," Susan said with a quiet reassurance.

"I guess so.  Besides if all else fails we can always elope," Carter said after a moment, with a small smile coming to his face again.  Susan smiled in returned as she sat looking at her future husband.

To be continued in the next series…


End file.
